When considering existing literature on puberty, one can easily conclude that it has little to no social influence. Immense psychological literature describes puberty as primarily biological and the initial stage of adolescence. It is from these biological factors experienced in puberty that social construction of puberty has developed and advanced. A significant amount of the aspects of growth and development attributed to puberty are explained biologically. It is these physical elements of growth and development that one would use to measure puberty in an individual. When one develops physically, it is when society would expect him or her to act according to their age. Primarily, the foundations of puberty are not social but biological. For instance, Lumen Learning (n.d.) discusses the physical aspects of puberty and explains them as indicators of one leaving childhood and getting into puberty. The advancement in physical features and sexual growth are all biological developments that would be the primary indicators of adolescence.
Puberty cannot be identified and described without the biological changes that occur. Even when considering cognitive development, the adolescent’s brain needs to have developed biologically for him or her to engage in complex cognitive processes. Lumen Learning (n.d.) clearly shows that biological forces need to occur for them to influence the development of all other aspects that come with puberty. The class text and numerous other sources on puberty clearly outline the critical role played by the biological forces witnessed during puberty. If a girl does show physical signs of sexual growth like the development of breasts and hips, she may not be considered to be in puberty even when she exhibits other non-biological signs. Therefore, puberty is extensively driven by biological forces.
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Response to Niya
Hello Niya, I commend how you articulate your thoughts on puberty as a social construct and the concept of this period in one’s development being viewed differently by different countries. I agree that adolescence is a social construct as many of the aspect connected to this period between childhood and adulthood are socially constructed. I do however feel that puberty is not a social construct. Puberty is marked by the physical and sexual aspects that occur when one is in their adolescence. I believe that this cannot be social constructs because they are aspects of the body that other people can witness happen to the adolescent. I also believe that these physical and sexual changes happen to any and every individual that is transitioning from childhood to adulthood. Unless influenced by forces like genes or the environment, girls from 2 communities who are maybe fifteen years will start developing features like breasts and hips and the experience of first ejaculations in boys.
Response to Nora
Hi Nora, I applaud your sentiments on puberty being a social construct among many cultures across the world. I agree that in some cultures, physical changes may not be considered as much compared to the role played by age. Nonetheless, I believe that age may not primarily mark puberty in an individual. Puberty can only be assumed to be happening if and when biological aspects, mainly physical and sexual characteristics are observed in the individuals. Would it be really considered puberty if a 12-year-old does not show any physical developed? Between a 12-year-old who grows breasts and a 13-year-old who does not, who would be considered to be experiencing puberty? I believe that physical differentiations like those I have mentioned above would stand as strong determinants of whether a child is in puberty or not. I therefore believe that we cannot overlook the power held by biological forces when considering puberty.
Reference
Lumen Learning. Introduction to Psychology . Oerfiles.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com. Retrieved 18 March 2021, from https://oerfiles.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Psychology/Introduction+to+Psychology.pdf.
