Psychotic P***y Podcast
Just two sisters discussing women’s mental and physical health. It's not only our hobby, but our careers. We want to shed light on important topics & teach people new things every episode.
Psychotic P***y Podcast
Puberty, Periods, and Judy Bloom: The Truth About Growing Up
When did puberty become a battleground? Today, girls as young as eight years old are experiencing their first periods—significantly earlier than previous generations—and the reasons might surprise you.
The latest research challenges our long-held assumptions about childhood obesity triggering early puberty. Instead, scientists have discovered that diet quality, independent of weight, plays a decisive role in when menstruation begins. Children consuming inflammatory, ultra-processed foods face a 15% higher likelihood of early periods, while healthier diets delay onset by 8%. This timing isn't merely an inconvenience; it's a health marker with lifelong implications for cancer risk, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.
Beyond the physical implications, we candidly explore the psychological impact of puberty's awkward timing. Through personal stories (including our dramatically different experiences at ages 11 versus 15), we examine the painful reality of middle school body scrutiny. Remember being labeled an "early bloomer" or teased for having "mosquito bites"? That shame leaves lasting scars. We challenge parents to recognize that pre-pubescent weight gain is biologically necessary and that negative body commentary during this vulnerable time can trigger lifelong issues with self-image.
The conversation takes a fascinating turn when we discuss Judy Bloom's revolutionary books about puberty—many banned because "girls shouldn't read about menstruation." This censorship reflects our society's persistent discomfort with perfectly normal development. As one mother disturbingly stated, she'd "rather her daughter read pornography" than Bloom's book about consensual relationships between eighteen-year-olds.
Whether you're a parent navigating these conversations with your child, an adult still healing from your own puberty experience, or someone who wants to better understand this universal yet uniquely individual journey, this episode offers wisdom, humor, and validation. Subscribe now and join the conversation about how we can better support young people through one of life's most challenging transitions.
Disclaimer: This podcast represents the opinions of Dr. Bridget Melton, MD and licensed therapist Marissa Volinsky, MS, LPC, NCC. The contents of our podcast and website should not be taken as medical advice. The contents of our podcast and website are for general informational purposes only, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any condition or disease or substitute for medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician, mental health professional, or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before starting or discontinuing treatment.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or a crisis, please reach out immediately to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. These services are free and confidential.
https://psychoticpypodcast.com/
https://www.instagram.com/psychoticpypodcast
https://www.facebook.com/psychoticpypodcast
Hello, welcome back to Psychotic PY Podcast. This is episode 5. It is past Mother's Day at this point, and even Cinco de Mayo. It is actually the 13th that we are recording Sad news. Bridget leads the 19th, so we are really close to her departure, please let her stay please. Anyway, taking it away for this episode, she'll introduce the topic bridget hi everybody.
Speaker 2:Yes, my last week here, um, I hope everyone had an amazing mother's day. Whether you have been a mother once, twice previously, currently mother, yeah, miscarrying, um, anything honestly looking for, looking for surrogacy, trying to become a mother if you're a mother, become a mother. If you're a mother and you hate it, if you're a mother and you love it, adopted, adopted. If you're a mother of any kind, if you've ever a stepmom, yes, if you've ever felt like a mother, you're a mother. Sorry, that's our vocal in the background Until she leaves.
Speaker 1:We have a guest star of Theo.
Speaker 2:But we hope everyone had an amazing Mother's's day, even if you were celebrating other people, celebrating yourself, celebrating people you love, people you hate. No, mothers can be grating, yes, but uh, hopefully everyone had an amazing weekend.
Speaker 1:The weather was definitely out so we recently walked with my mom's friend, vickyicky. Love you, vicky. What was it like for 5.1 miles? It was so beautiful. You know she lives in a beach town Beautiful. You know place to live and be able to walk to the main street and the beach. We got very lucky. Good day. We got Theo a hat Adorable, had to prevent a summer. He's Irish and English, okay yeah.
Speaker 1:Yes, he's irish and english okay yeah, yes, an american, an american, but, but we're also irish. So um, very pale skin, blue eyes like kid. Um, we we must have wore him out sitting in the carriage all day, because he slept forever for virgin he slept about 14 hours. We were worried about being able to record today because he was just such a perfect we wouldn't wake up, he would not wake up, we were like are you alive?
Speaker 2:today's episode is sponsored by on the rocks real clink.
Speaker 1:As bridget said, she is this time drinking the jalapeno jalapeno pineapple, pineapple margarita with a trace generationis tequila and I'm actually drinking their limited edition for the summer blue hawaiian. Please get, please get it. I've had many blue hawaiians. This is the most delicious.
Speaker 2:She's had more than a few blue Hawaiians in her life.
Speaker 1:Hey, the reason I started is actually from my college days, when my best friend, nicole, told me about how she was conceived. Her parents had gone away on vacation and had blue Hawaiians oh my god stop it, and that's where I started.
Speaker 1:By the way, you should try this, nicole. Most delicious one I've ever had clink. This is not sponsored. We are paying for on the rocks. Listen on the rocks. We will mention you every day for the rest of our lives till you sponsor us. Even dexter wants please give us booze, okay okay, so today's topic is judy bloom heavy.
Speaker 2:It's all about menstruation and puberty. We're really excited because both of us went through puberty. Unfortunately also shout out judy bloom, new jersey. Um, uh, what do you call the thing? Hall of fame, new jersey native. Um, a lot of her books actually take place in new jersey. She's great. She's an octogenarian now. I don't know exactly how old, but I know she's in her 80s and so she's relevant because we're talking about puberty and we are specifically mentioning um we're gonna talk about this as well is her new series on netflix is based off her book forever. Um, she is an executive producer on it. Um, so she talks about um. How much it, you know, changed things for her daughter, and we'll dive into it.
Speaker 2:So shout out judy bloom, shout out new jersey, shout out puberty. So so the first thing we're talking about is a CNN article that was just posted. Actually, it was updated today, tuesday, may 13th, that's today. So the headline in CNN health is early periods are a problem and what your kid eats may make an impact. Studies suggest so dialing way back to, let's say, late 90s, early 2000s, when we did notice that there was an earlier period progression, for girls specifically. So average period for men, that's hard period, lol. Puberty there is a myriad, though there's a male period. Anyway, the average age of puberty for boys was still 9 to 11 years old, and that's the start of puberty. When doctors say average age of puberty, we don't mean like they're done, like you're, not 11, ready to be like Everyone's different, we learned even from growing up, our friends had it in different years, right yeah, very different.
Speaker 2:But when we say average age, that means the start. So for 9 to 11, for boys, 8 say average age. That means the start. Yeah, so for nine to 11 for boys, eight to 12 for girls, eight. Now you're saying, holy shnikes, that's really young, it is so back in the 60s, 70s, 80s, it was not that age, however. Nowadays it's eight to 12. So let's dive into that. So way back when in the 80s, 90s, 2000s, when we were learning holy shnnikes, it's getting really early, um, it was. We were linking it to, um, childhood obesity. Now that is because obesity, uh, fat and estrogen are besties. We've talked about this, definitely on our podcast before. Estrogen is fat that loves estrogen. So extra estrogen is stored in your fat as something called estrone. It's still an hormone. So if you are a slightly pudgier little girl, let's say festive jolly, who knows this larger body? You know which a lot of young girls are. Because let me get back to this, hold on, I have too many things I want to say.
Speaker 1:We're going to yeah there's a lot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, puberty is an exciting topic. Um, so if you have that extra fat stores in your thighs and belly, which is where it's expected to be, you have more estrogen stores. Now, if you have higher levels of estrogen at the age of eight or nine, you will kickstart puberty. So they thought, okay, it's obviously because kids are heavier. Now new research suggests that's not true and that it actually is diet dependent, independent of your BMI.
Speaker 2:Um, now, what I was going to say is how to get back to it is girls this is very typical young girls specifically put on what you call like baby fat, puppy fat, right before puberty, because you need that to help launch your estrogen into puberty. So if you have a daughter right now and she's eight, nine, 10, 11, and all of a sudden you notice, oh, she's gaining a little bit of weight, that is normal, and the worst thing you can do biologically is put her on a diet at this age, you will set her up for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obviously low self-esteem and yo-yo dieting. The best thing for you to do is completely ignore it and acknowledge that. This is biology. She needs that fat to get her through puberty and when she turns, you know, 14, 15, 16.
Speaker 1:She's going to grow taller, thin out, and that's it I'm not even a doctor and I have seen this in my own practice with um, if I meet with young girls or their mothers and like that is their concern.
Speaker 1:But but yet the key is, as Regina said, it has only come on right before they're about to start puberty. They will thin out, they're going to shoot up, they will get rid of it. Please do not make them feel anything less than that they are. Don't bring attention to it. The best thing you can do is keep going on every day Like nothing has ever changed, just like your boys get hungry before puberty.
Speaker 2:That's how you know your boys are growing. All of a sudden you're like my fridge literally cannot be stocked. We girls need that too. Why are we saying like it's okay for boys to eat you out of house and home and you go broke in a day? Girls need that same. Like grace, like girls are also hungry because their bodies are changing. And just because they don't grow three inches overnight, like like your son maybe did, they're still growing massively Also correct me if I'm wrong, but don't women biologically from back in the caveman days?
Speaker 1:we have an extra layer of fat in our thighs, 30% more. There's a reason for it because while they were the hunters, we were the gatherers and we needed it. It's normal we need it.
Speaker 2:Stop pushing away from it. Women carry 30% more fat on on average, especially in the thighs and midsection. A lot of that had to do with waiting in water, so when you waited in cold water, you needed the fat to insulate you and keep you warm. Also, obviously, you need fat because, like I said, estrogen and fat are besties. If women are carrying babies, you need estrogen to have a normal period, to carry a pregnancy, etc. So you need to kind of free yourself. The most freeing thing is to say I'm going to forever now intertwine estrogen, which is a good thing. You need that when you drop your menopause. I'm going to forever link fat and estrogen together and instead stop trying to be like I'm going to drop all my fat. I need to lose all my fat. If you lose all your fat, you will lose your estrogen.
Speaker 1:They don't call them birthing hips for nothing, ladies and gentlemen. There's a reason why people men may look at you like, wow, you've got good birthing hips. Women, I like you. There's a reason. I mean, it might be inappropriate at times, but there's a reason. They say that it's true making young girls specifically.
Speaker 2:I mean, listen, if you're an adult and you want to feel however you want as about your body, you're an adult, you make your own decisions. It upsets me because I feel sad, but if you want to feel however type of way about your body, that's completely your choice. But do not please ever put that mindset on a young girl who's about to go through puberty which, as young girls know, anyone who's ever met a girl before is like in such a tumultuous time, and the worst thing is then to have, like your mom, be like oh, by the way, you're fat and you're like, oh, my god, yes, could this get worse?
Speaker 1:what I mean I've learned we're gonna generalize it here because I don't want to, you know. Just like, single anybody out because this is definitely a community experience, at least from our age and and older. I know we're doing better now after, like our kids are definitely going to grow up in a better, wholesome mental health environment, but before our kids, our generation and up, like experienced like those special k moms and my god, almond diet moms, and you know what I'm talking about right special k literally was like here's a diet, just eat our cereal.
Speaker 1:No nutrition cereal, three times their whole premise was either you eat a cereal or a cereal bar and you. I'm not saying it didn't work, it probably did because carbs only. Yeah, starving yourself, but was it healthy and did you get the vitamins you needed every day?
Speaker 2:there's no protein in cereal no, you, you would.
Speaker 1:Definitely you would lose the weight, were you healthy? No, and we now know, as we have become more educated through time, that just because you're skinny doesn't mean you're healthy, does not mean you're healthy Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:As we talked about in season one with our friend Annie, who's a dietician, your body size and your health are not inextricably linked. You can be a larger body person and have numbers that are showing you're very healthy, you've got great protein intake, your lipids are in check. Why do we all automatically assume, oh, she's bigger body, so she's unhealthy? It's not true.
Speaker 1:It's the way society has made us feel and as again, thank you for mentioning Annie. We'd love to plug her Annie's a to Z wellness. A to Z wellness. I just want you registered dietitian registered, registered dietitian.
Speaker 1:But I want everybody to know because they maybe they don't she is covered by insurance, so she has got you covered. I don't want you to be like well, I would love to meet with her but I can't afford it. You can, if you can afford a low copay, you can afford Annie and honestly I think she's the best around right, best we know.
Speaker 2:Oh, for sure.
Speaker 1:Annie Zappula A to Z Wellness. Look her up guys.
Speaker 2:So Diving more into the CNN study. So what we found was eating a more inflammatory diet is associated with a 15% greater chance of kids having their first period in the next month, whereas a healthier diet reduced this risk by 8%, according to the Journal of Human Reproduction. Now you might be saying what is a higher inflammatory diet? It's linked with ultra-processed foods. So processed foods, I get it. We live in a modern world, we're all on the go. It might be hard to avoid these. Ultra-processed foods refer to more fast foods, certain deli meats, stuff like that. Ultra-processed foods can also sometimes be called junk foods, so the foods that your body wouldn't naturally use for energy and burn those calories nicely. There's still obviously a source of fuel for you. You're not going to starve by any means. Your body will use them, but they will not use them as efficiently and to the maximum capacity that your body would use whole foods. That's really the main difference.
Speaker 2:So an early start to menstruation, as CNN says, isn't just inconvenient Okay, I mean CNN, did a man write this article Inconvenient, but it is a marker for chronic conditions. This is very true. So if you go into a menstruation earlier, that means your estrogen is peaking earlier. Now you expose yourself to more cancers. This is really sad. So the higher levels of estrogen you have throughout your life, estrogen can become eventually a carcinogen. So you open yourself up to a higher risk of breast cancer lifetime a higher risk of ovarian cancer because now you're ovulating more than you would be and it can be very dangerous, absolutely. Also, an early first period, which is impacted by genetics. Obviously we always look to you know your mother. However, she went through puberty and external factors is associated with a higher risk of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, with a higher risk of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. So it's really important to address these issues because we shouldn't have maybe eight-year-olds going through menstruation.
Speaker 1:Correct, I will say. As life moves on, we are plagued with this on-the-go lifestyle. Right, everyone has to be in a million sports, so many parent teacher conferences. Mothers are more likely to be not in the home but working right, because life is expensive. So that does force a big part of the population into like what's quick, what's easy, what's fast, what's cheap, which tends to be fast food. Fast food, if eaten enough, if it's a regular part of your diet, will make you have. If you're a female, biologically, then you might have an eight-year-old period, unfortunately, because the hormones in the diet food yeah so a lot of ultra processed food.
Speaker 2:Let's say, let's just say, like mcdonald's, I don't know, I'm just taking it as an example um, please don't sue us. I know, I know, please, we can't afford it, we'll call it mcdonald's also.
Speaker 2:we have no money, so can't get blood from a stone. Yeah, we're not monetized for this, so meh, who cares? You probably buy a cheaper or lower quality chicken, beef, et cetera. It might be loaded with antibiotics and hormones. It is what it is. That's the world we live in. Yes, and now again, this was kind of the older way of thinking, though. Is that this kind of food opened you?
Speaker 2:up to having a period, because you're getting the hormones from the chicken, the beef, et cetera, the antibiotics from the chicken, the beef, whatever. It's hard to say chicken or the egg, because we don't do studies on children, especially children who are going through puberty. It can be unethical, so it's really really hard to determine what exactly is making children go through puberty sooner. But we can just kind of assume that it is linked to our diet, because that is a major cultural shift that has happened since. We've recorded these earlier periods.
Speaker 2:Now, Marissa, can you comment on the psychological?
Speaker 1:impact of younger kids going through puberty. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, um so honestly, no matter what decade you were born in, middle school is a bitch. Can we all agree to that?
Speaker 1:yeah middle school is definitely worse than high school because at least in high school people has as virginia has uh described to me while discussing the podcast they've leveled out a bit, they're not so hard and they want you to see you die right, we understand consequences a bit a bit, not completely, but yeah, I will agree, my middle school experience was definitely worse than my high school experience. There's a lot going on during middle school Puberty, yes, but I will say with clients in the past that I have seen, middle school is hard psychologically, it's mentally, physically, just everything's overwhelming. Unfortunately, nowadays we are experienced, as we've talked in other podcasts social media never, seen before?
Speaker 1:have we been exposed to non-stop bullying? Yeah, you may have been bullied in school, but at least before generations you've been able to go home, unplug, get a separation. There's a reason why, unfortunately, suicide is on the rise and how about?
Speaker 2:this is uh, I think every woman can look back and reflect on this moment. So either you were the early bloomer in middle school or you were the never bloomer in middle school and actually want to be to this.
Speaker 1:I know early bloomer in middle school. Actually one of each in this family.
Speaker 2:I know Early bloomer Never a bloomer Late, not never Late. Not in middle school. Late, late, yeah, very late. So you can completely see the opposite sides of the pendulum. Marissa, if you get boobs first or second or third in middle school, everyone's like smut, let me see your tits. You can't escape it. Okay now if you never get boobs in middle school, flat as a plank of wood, like we're just a man, like yeah, I'm sorry, so what am I supposed to be then? It's either one or the other.
Speaker 1:you know, what's funny is depending on who you interacted with, for when I was hitting um that stage, it was either like, yes, you got these boobs before everyone else, or I had a sect of men saying you, you're just fat, that's gross. It was in between because, as we know, as women, when you first get your boobs, they are like a certain shape right, mosquito bite Okay. I can't talk for everyone, but when mine came in they were almost like triangular in a shape.
Speaker 2:They are. They're called breast bugs.
Speaker 1:Yes, and maybe they didn't stand out as much.
Speaker 2:No, they're called breast buds.
Speaker 1:They're just little fat pads, because I definitely had the fat pad that we were all talking about. That comes on before puke. I know I did and unfortunately, because of that, and if you have mosquito bites, as they call them, and my boobs don't stick out farther than my stomach, I was considered like a cat.
Speaker 2:Right, yes, also. How weird is it so all these terms? Like I dropped Tic Tacs down my shirt, I had a mosquito bite, they all came from like our parents and our parents' friends, right, have they not? So I?
Speaker 1:have learned that kids only learn things from what they hear or see, Whether it's media or their parents. They're not bored and they're like mosquito bite.
Speaker 2:They don't know that.
Speaker 1:So if any child repeated that to me, they had to have heard it somewhere.
Speaker 2:Okay. So I always heard that, oh, you dropped tic tacs down your shirt because I literally only had nipples until I was very old, so I'm just gonna be candid with you guys. I didn't have puberty until I was almost five, uh, 15 so I was six months shy of my 15.
Speaker 1:You hit it at 15, I hit it at 11. Very different, very yes now.
Speaker 2:So, uh, anyone who's like medically based like you know that 15 is actually like kind of the cutoff. 15 if you have other symptoms. 16, um no sorry. 15 if you have no other symptoms like I did have other things leading to puberty, so I was fine 16 if you have other symptoms, so I was fine if you know bridget in real life listening to us, you understand why she hit the end of the cusp.
Speaker 1:She was very thin I was real thin. I had no, not enough thought jerry was not feeding her. Yes, you could see her knee bones, so bad that you were like are you eating?
Speaker 2:yes, no, yes, please, please donate one dollar per month to a starving child.
Speaker 1:No, that's true and I had the extra store facts. So I hit the early. Yeah, I hit the early range. I I think if she had had another girl it might have been in the middle, because michael seems like he was in middle of us.
Speaker 2:I was Jerry and I were very similar. Jerry was 14 when she went through puberty, and I was 14 and a half, so I was 11. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So Jerry does very much resemble you the most. Yeah, the only time I would say I ever looked like her is. I saw a photo of her at a field hockey one time and I she showed me a picture. She had dark eyeliner on the bottoms and I probably shouldn't be comparing this because this is like a makeup trick, but whatever, I also in high school wore dark eyeliner for chicken to test and my friends and I remember saying field hockey, dark eyeliner, marissa and cheerleading dark eyeliner.
Speaker 2:Oh my god, we are twins. I just it's funny because you're taking the most vulnerable of a population. We're taking young girls who are maybe eight, nine, ten years old and we're.
Speaker 2:We're putting on these labels like oh, she's got mosquito bites or she's an early bloomer. We are sexualizing children. At the end of the day, do you think the girl who's 13 and woke up with c-cups is like yay? No, she's like holy fucking shit, what happened to my shirt overnight? You know what I mean, and I actually remember. I mean not to call people out.
Speaker 1:Well, that's not my mind, we'll do it after you.
Speaker 2:I have a very good friend I'm not going to name any names. I have a very good friend who I've been friends with basically my whole life, since elementary school, and she did go through puberty I wouldn't say early, average age, but she was like one of the first bloomers in our class and our people around us, adults around us did mention oh she, you know, she carries herself a certain way, so she's always looking for male attention and I remember saying thank god, what do you mean? Like, I love this girl, she's my best friend, we sleep over time. What are you talking about? And this adult who was in my life frequently, um, said oh, no, no, the way, you know, she shakes her hips. Now that I'm an adult and I look back on that the way, quote, she shakes her hips, it's because she went through puberty and that's just how she began to walk. When you grow up with, all of a sudden you literally marcel right, you wake up and you go holy. Who's butts in my pants? Whose ass?
Speaker 1:is that also, god forbid. A girl has confidence. What the fuck she had confidence, true, but like why are we shaming her?
Speaker 2:but also, it was literally the only way she could walk with her body shape. Yes, she was not going around like sachet, sachet, oh wait, okay, sachet. Oh wait, okay, queen, she was not doing that, she was just walking at, I want to say, 12 or 13. She woke up with hips overnight, as puberty kind of happens, and this adult in my life was like I don't think you should be friends with her. She carries herself a certain way and I was like, and I was like I was 12 and I was like this is wrong. I'm sorry, like whatever you're saying is wrong. I know this girl. I've known this girl since we were like nine. You're wrong. This is wrong. She hit puberty and you need to get the F over it and I think about that all the time.
Speaker 1:Meant to be adopted From the get-go. I hit puberty actually At an interesting time. I'll share a story with all of our viewers. Me and my sister went to Camp Lobegan for two weeks Camp.
Speaker 2:Lobegan, which was a sleep-away camp.
Speaker 1:So my parents didn't see both of us for two weeks. During those two weeks for me not my sister was the summer that I already had hit my puberty. So I obviously hit it at 11 and I hit it in like April or May, if I can remember correctly. So this was the summer of that.
Speaker 2:So I was still 11.
Speaker 1:Interesting enough, I loved all the girls I bunked with, but I will say, because we were all kind of in that same, hitting the puberty or not, we all started judging each other because some girls came with a very big, like full c cup and I came with my mosquito bites, but already had my period. Some girls had not hit their period yet some girls just had like what they call like nipple and skin, which was like it was there but not like some girls had not hit their period.
Speaker 1:now, all of us were in this cabin and we were all trying to be best friends, and I don't even mean to say that like we were forced to, like we all actually got along very well.
Speaker 2:Your cabin did get along. I remember you guys were vibing much more than we were.
Speaker 1:We actually really liked each other, although, I will say, five girls out of the 10 in the cabin were from the same school and whatever. So half the cabin already knew each other but from the same school and whatever. So half the cabin already knew each other. But we all got along really well. Yeah, we were all at different puberty ages of when we hit our period. Our group sizes were all different, but what I do remember is that we were all taught incorrectly.
Speaker 2:So no matter what size we were.
Speaker 1:It was okay to praise the girls that were just woke up with these C or Ds and if you had mosquito bites or less or what we called back then as immature middle schoolers like, oh, you had some skin, which means we hoped your boobs came in, but they were like weird looking and were still growing, as we we used to say, and we were all just like, oh my God, like what's wrong with your boobs, what are they going?
Speaker 2:to grow in Like oh my God, what are they going to grow in?
Speaker 1:Yeah, like what's wrong with them? Oh my, oh, my God, why aren't they C's or D's? And we were like first of all every woman genetically isn't meant to be a C or a D, Because when I did fully grow in I was a B and a half.
Speaker 2:I was fully pregnant, still not a C, yeah.
Speaker 1:Now, after having kids, I am much bigger, but before I had kids, I was a B and a half my whole life Before Jack, my first son, a B and a half bigger, obviously, but that was not the case before children.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry, I'm a baby.
Speaker 1:I'm always been more fit sister. I know I'm no movies. It's just interesting that, like you, threw all these girls going through puberty in a cabin, yeah, and unspent, unbeknownst to them, there are cabin leaders and people in charge. We're all looking at each other's bodies, judging each other, saying what's right, what's wrong.
Speaker 2:None of us are medical doctors.
Speaker 1:None of us have even graduated eighth grade yet here we are like wrong, yeah, right, wrong, right. All of us are wrong. All of us are wrong. Yeah, the doctor is eating her tagine, but she will come out, I'm eating tagine.
Speaker 2:um, I do love that about, uh, childhood. Is that, for some reason, you assume like you're gonna grow into? I'm doing air quotes right now. You're gonna grow into this, you're gonna grow into your nose, you're gonna grow into your ears, you're going to your boobs you're going to your hips, jerry gator, what, what, what? Her nose? Are you talking about her nose?
Speaker 1:it looks great on, yeah, okay and photographs.
Speaker 2:Yeah, love it like why is it always like you're gonna grow into this, you're gonna grow into that? I so? I truly again, because I went to a catholic school. They don't really teach you much about yeah, we both menstruation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm sorry, sorry we went to a catholic school.
Speaker 2:They don't teach you much about menstruation other than like you're gonna bleed sinner.
Speaker 1:First of all, I'm cracking up. But, uh, in order not to not have sex me and bridget were actually talking about this recently they like thought show you a slideshow of stds, or it's good enough, but all you need to do was put on a loop of a crying newborn 24 7. I promise you I never would have had a kid tall baby, the same torture that they use in gitmo.
Speaker 2:By the way, they did that in guantanamo bay they play loops of babies crying.
Speaker 1:That would scare you off of scary you didn't need to show me an std. You want to know why? Because all their mistake was always showing me these penises. True, and I'm like my problem, I got a regime. Yeah, that's a good point, don't care now. If you Now, if you on a loop, you were like listen for a whole week nonstop.
Speaker 2:I'm sending you home.
Speaker 1:You must listen to this CD. Fact, that CD on your CD. Yeah, listen to nonstop babies crying, I would have fucking lost it Now.
Speaker 2:Picture this You're 19. You have no dad in the picture.
Speaker 1:It's just you and the when I've dropped out of high school and joined a union I've never.
Speaker 2:I'm not even. She's not qualified to join a union, but she'll join one I would have.
Speaker 1:Listen, I'm very attracted to men, but I would have been a lesbian. I would have been a fucking lesbian.
Speaker 2:A me-lesbian? She would have been a me-lesbian.
Speaker 1:A millennial lesbian. That's what you said, am I wrong? I'm a millennial lesbian. Listen, listen, bitch On the.
Speaker 2:Rocks Sponsored Sponsored by On the Rocks. That's what I do.
Speaker 1:We're just going to make it till you make it On the Rocks, sponsored by On the Rocks, clank Ready. Anyway, versus a lesbian, I absolutely would have been a lesbian, but not the lesbian. That's like let's have a family, no, let's have dogs, let's have a farm with dogs, cats, parrots, parakeets. I don't give a shit. We would have taken in all the animals that were abused. We would have done it. You would never have had it. I love Jack and Evelyn. Thank God they're here and they never did this to us.
Speaker 1:But if you had, done that to me on a loop for even two days not even a week, two days, Jack and Evelyn would never have existed.
Speaker 2:I know, Never it. It's so true. The crying baby is hilarious. And then I only watched a movie two weeks ago that said they actually did that. I'm not just saying this is a true thing. In Guantanamo Bay they would play a crying newborn over and over and I'm like that, totally tracks, Like that would make you go crazy.
Speaker 1:It tracks because any mother with their hormones and trying to heal would go literally insane.
Speaker 2:It's a horrible noise, but what I was saying is the whole you're going to grow into this mentality. I am 30 and I still have eight cups. There is no like you're going to grow into it and it's actually really, I would say, damaging Cause. I think I was like 18. I was maybe a little dumb dumb. I was about 18 when I was like so, mom, like when am I going.
Speaker 1:I know we're laughing, but like on the rocks.
Speaker 2:But when are my boobs coming in? And my mom was like girl, you're 18. Give up the dream.
Speaker 1:Like this is it?
Speaker 2:So I think it's just like a very damaging mentality. You'd be like oh, you're going to grow into it, you're going to grow into this, you're going to grow into that.
Speaker 1:When sometimes it's like is your body? It is, you are an eight cup. Accept it, queen. Well, okay. So genetically, if we're going into genetics and history, we are both half italian, half irish, correct full american, but yes, I don't care what you are, we're full america.
Speaker 1:I keep telling my kids what we are because we're like a mix at this point. But john's like, tell them we're american, I mean we are typical marine, so the marine I. I mean not to knock them. I appreciate all they've done for my husband and all the benefits, but every time I do tell him, like what are you? I only found out from his family because, when I asked him, he goes American. I'm like that's not real, because your family has said Irish, german and Polish, but okay, american. He doesn't say America, he goes America. I'm like, okay, you're clearly indoctrinated. Again, love, you guys have given us the greatest benefits, although, okay, if we're talking about this, which is another segment, can we do better on?
Speaker 1:homeless veterans at least in New Jersey alone. And yeah, we can Philadelphia ridiculous.
Speaker 2:Right, we can dive in next episode next episode.
Speaker 1:But is that not ridiculous? You can agree to that now ridiculous right, yeah absolutely. They've given their life for this country for a minimum of four years definitely more some of them, but a minimum of four. And you're saying like, oh well, after you get out, be homeless, okay, I could go on for like eight hours.
Speaker 2:There's no three drinks in no, no, I would do.
Speaker 1:I am passionate, no matter what, because the man I love has been a marine and we'll go on. I won't even say the bad word Curse you Next episode, anyway. So anyway. What were you talking about before I got so heated?
Speaker 2:About being Irish, polish.
Speaker 1:German. Genetic, genetic Thank you Sorry On the rocks, Blue Hawaiian this time. Anyway, the point is is that because of that and because of the definitely dietary needs of Bridget and I growing up, we had to create different things. We did grow up more Bridget. I would say more Irish and fit, and I was Italian and curvy.
Speaker 2:She's a Sophia Loren.
Speaker 1:Curvy, love my cheese and carbs and pasta and all that.
Speaker 2:It is a lot of genetics. It's a lot of genetics.
Speaker 1:But because of that I I know, now that we grew up to be therapists and doctors, that what we were doing in middle school was so toxic and negative. There was no ill intent, ill will, whatever it's called. We were going off of our peers and how they made us feel, and the worst is like back then social media wasn't a big thing, but I remember magazines were, yeah, and there was like teen teen voo cosmo girl.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and if you were in like a stick, you were a fan but heroin cheek was very in when we were coming of age.
Speaker 2:So early 2000s it was heroin cheek, which everyone our age knows that term if you're a little bit older you probably never heard heroin, heroin cheek. It basically refers to the term in the early 2000s when if you were underweight to the point where you looked emaciated, that was the goal. So you wanted your hip bones to pop, you wanted your collarbones to pop, your shoulders, everything you wanted, the bonier the better, and it's almost to the point where it actually looked like you were underfed because that's what you wanted. If you wanted to reach the point of beauty and wealth where you were so wealthy that you could purposefully not eat that you looked like a unfortunately a dry addict. So heroin cheek is which I've heard.
Speaker 1:Bad news is coming back but I heard that too, okay. So here's the thing Even if that was in style and every single woman on this planet subscribed to that, it's impossible for every single woman, because some women have more hips than others.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, no, you can never achieve the same goals.
Speaker 1:Listen, even at my thinnest and Bridget's thinnest. Bridget looked like she belonged in Africa and you were donating to her, I did. And I still looked what you would call a normal skinny Even at my skinny has never achieved model skinny because my hips never allowed it.
Speaker 2:That's true, they still lie.
Speaker 1:Even when I was super skinny, I was still. They called me normal. We have a different body shape, normal, and you know what? Let's pretend that we're, even though though we are, but people like to be stupid because of trends. Let's pretend that we're educated. Right, it doesn't work for everybody. Even if I get the skinniest I can get, and so does bridget, she will always be skinnier than me because she's always taller than me and doesn't have the hips, this physical.
Speaker 2:The illusion is that I'm thinner because I have a taller body. I'm'm five three and a half, I'm five seven.
Speaker 1:So the height is very different and I have Italian hips and you have Irish hips. I love them. Now, I don't mean this in a negative way, but they're non-existent. You have model legs Model. That should be a compliment. I don't have model legs Different pelvis shape.
Speaker 2:For anyone medical listening, it's a different pelvis shape. The android pelvis, the anthropophilus are different pelvis shapes. Um, they usually for women they come in three different shapes. For men they come in one. Um, sometimes women can have the male shape as well. Um, and when you see a skeleton, like a bear skeleton, it's super obvious. When you see a human with fat and muscle, it's more difficult to tell. Um, I only really have to know this because childbirth.
Speaker 2:The study had used data from more than 7,500 children aged 9 to 14 enrolled in the Growing Up Today study, g-u-t-s GUTs. So researchers surveyed the kids in 1996 and 2004 and then followed up with them in 2001 and 2008, respectively. So they measured diet in two ways the Alternative Healthy Eating Index, which rates foods and nutrients that predict chronic disease, and the Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Pattern, which is a dietary index that can assess a diet's ability to affect chronic inflammation index that can assess a diet's ability to affect chronic inflammation. And they use these statistical models to evaluate the connection between the quality of diet and the age at which menstruation started. Eating a healthy diet in late childhood and early adolescence is associated with girls having a later first period compared with those consuming a less healthy diet. Importantly, this association was not explained by the impact of diet on body size. So the previous understanding was that overeating high calorie foods may impact early menstruation because the accumulation of body fat signals hormones to initiate puberty. But the connection is there even if you account for body mass index or BMI. So childhood obesity was likely not the only factor influencing connection between early menstruation and diet. Another factor related to unhealthy or inflammatory eating must be contributing. So you know environmental factors influence the age at which menstruation starts, including being exposed to high levels of air pollution, which in the Northeast we have.
Speaker 2:You know we're chock full of and personal care products and hormone disruptors. You know lotions, soaps, et cetera. It's difficult to eliminate your own or your child's exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals and there isn't clear labeling requirements, especially by the FDA, which we know Um. So but you can use, like skinsafeproductscom or, um Skin Deep, they will tell you the uh. Basically they give you a green, yellow or red ranking on your soaps, your deodorants, your shampoos, your lotions, etc. Um where where your product ranks with hormone disrupting abilities, which is important to know. Where your product ranks with hormone disrupting abilities which is important to know.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. Yeah, in this study, researchers assessed healthy diets, people who had fruits, veg, healthy fats, whole grains, nuts and legumes, and then people who had what you would say inflammatory diet, which is red and processed meats, refined grains, sugar, sweetened beverages, which is soda for juice and diet soft drinks, and that is what they use. Our findings highlight the need for all children and adolescents to have access to healthy meal options and the importance of school-based breakfast and lunches, including based on evidence-based guidelines, which is really important. Ultra ultra-processed foods are 70% of a typical teenager's intake 70%.
Speaker 1:Wow, yeah, that's crazy, very crazy.
Speaker 2:So the average American teenager is consuming 70% of their diet ultra-processed.
Speaker 1:Now we wonder why 7 to 8-year-olds are having periods. It's incredible.
Speaker 2:It's very important which segues into Okay, so we're getting into Judy Blume, which I promised you in the beginning, the Judy Blume carrot dangling, so New Jersey native. A lot of her books are actually based in New Jersey.
Speaker 1:We all know.
Speaker 2:Judy Blume. We all love Judy Blume, especially if you're a girl who came of age any time I definitely had to read this growing up. Yeah, it's uh. What is it?
Speaker 1:it's me, god are you there, god?
Speaker 2:it's me margaret, jeannie, um blubber. What is it called blubber?
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah she brought it over here, she would label all I know it's a great.
Speaker 2:She's a great author. Like I said, she's an octogenarian now and she's in the new jersey hall of fame. She actually has um on the interstate 95. She has a rest stop named after her. So she uh, currently on netflix is called forever. It is a I think it's a limited series.
Speaker 2:It's based on judy bloom's uh revolutionary book at the time and I think it was 1975 or it's set in 1975, new jersey. So let's talk about banned books. So forever, uh, and many of her books judy bloom said she actually wrote for her own daughter, who is a pre-teen at the time, who said I want to read books about me and make me feel good and nobody dies, which is funny. So basically she wanted a book about teenagers who would maybe fall in love, enjoy themselves God forbid and not die no consequences for just falling in love, which is what we should have. So Judy Blume started writing and Forever is a story about this. This is her story, her novel, not the Netflix series. I'll tell you about the Netflix series in a second.
Speaker 2:So the novel, which is based in mid to late seventies New Jersey, is about high school seniors. Now we're talking about 17 to 18 year olds who meet at a New Year's Eve party and end up dating. And when they are they're dating, they're happy, they're in love. It's very consensual relationship. They have fun, they fool around, they explore their own sexuality completely consensual, as I mentioned, towards the end of their senior year. So now we're assuming they're 18 years old, they are adults who love each other and choose to be together. They also are safe and they have sex. So that's how the book ends.
Speaker 2:So in the 70s, mothers and and states went wild, especially Pennsylvania and Ohio. They banned this book. They banned it. They banned it left, right, center, it was banned everywhere. And someone actually said a congressman, of course it was a man actually said, quote girls should not read about menstruation.
Speaker 2:In relation to other books that Judy Blume wrote, I think that was about it's Me, god, are you there? It's Me, margaret, are you there, god? I think that was what he was talking about. So, quote girls should not read about menstruation. So how are we supposed to learn about it If you can't read about it? What do you hear about it through your grandma and your mother? Great, so they have information that was passed down from their grandmother and their mothers which they weren't allowed to read about, so you're getting false information. Hearsay, as a lawyer would describe it. Um, because you shouldn't be reading about it. Something that is going through you at the time, it's happening to you, it's, you know, a natural process, but, quote, girls should not be reading about it so I know so judy bloom's book, one of many, as I said.
Speaker 2:Uh, it's me, margaret, are you there? God, dini and um forever. We're all completely banned, but we're available through, like the american library, whatever you know. Um, so forever. The netflix series is um, modern, just modernized. It's a couple from la, it's out of new jersey, um, and I think the premise still remains where they are in love and they are young. It's a young couple and they decide to be intimate with each other.
Speaker 2:Um, another quote. I read this this morning so it's fresh in my head. A mother, I think in ohio, about forever in the 70s, said I would rather my child read pornography because then at least she learns the consequences. Where in the book forever they have sex and they're happy and the book ends and she doesn't want the daughter to be happy and know that there's a happy ending. 18 year olds, by the way. 18 year olds having a consensual loving relationship, choosing each other to engage in sexual activity, lose their virginities and parents were so unhappy well, I mean, as someone who has loved history but also became a therapist, I can, I can attest to.
Speaker 1:I mean a woman should be happy in the home, happy serving, happy as a mother, happy as a wife. You have freedom to choose. Maybe, as they call the lonely, what is it? Lonely boy? Uh, global, whatever global problem that it is on tiktok, the lonely boy. Right now, what's going on? Is the lonely boy global issue or lonely boy something?
Speaker 2:in selves? Are we using it on the term for themselves?
Speaker 1:they are themselves, but that's not what we're using. Again, I'm a little too old to keep up with the complete term, but I know that the beginning of the term is lonely boy. What is it called? Pandemic epidemic, whatever? Honestly, don't fucking know, because I'm married and happy and don't keep up with this, but I will say that this could end this pandemic epidemic, whatever you want to call it, this lonely boy issue, if you just became like a real good person. If you're looking for a slave, just say that.
Speaker 1:But if you want a partner in life, then this lonely boy thing will be a problem.
Speaker 2:What came to mind with reading real people quote saying I'd rather my child read pornography than fucking forever in 1975 is um have, I mean, no one says this anymore, it's just ironically. But can't turn a housewife into hoe, marissa, I mean a hoe into a housewife. I said that part doesn't turn good. Marissa's living proof that you can in fact take a hoe and turn her into a housewife I'm gonna take one for the team right now, guys.
Speaker 1:Okay, all my friends get a test right now. Sorry, mom, you're about to hear right now all the times that I've lied to you, but I was in fact a hoe, and now she's a housewife?
Speaker 2:No, she works.
Speaker 1:I could have been If my husband had told me, I could be, we'd live a mediocre life.
Speaker 2:She has kids.
Speaker 1:She's happy, Listen guys. Okay, so every friend group has the promiscuous friend.
Speaker 2:I was the promiscuous friend.
Speaker 1:Promiscuous girl. Okay, listen, girl, boy, we don't need a lawsuit, bridget, I know, anyway. So basically I was that friend. I was always the promiscuous girl. I always did the crazy bullshit shit like cliff jumping for some people right, bullshit, shit.
Speaker 1:I'm not saying that a cliff jump, but like if you can think about, like okay, we have a group, a friend group, and then, like the person who was ready to cliff jump, that was me right, like I just did crazy shit. I did whatever the fuck I wanted. You want to know why I did whatever the fuck I wanted? This is so bad. Our jerry's gonna kill us. It's because she, she was smart enough to put us on birth control early, but that just was like a pass anyway, so that's what I did, oh, my god, our relatives are listening to this.
Speaker 1:They're gonna die. We're gonna have to go to so many funerals because of this marissa. I mean, I mean, they're gonna croak. This is they don't see me like this. I was the shy older kid promiscuous, but shy older kid anyway so, um, basically, where did we go on this topic?
Speaker 2:I honestly, I I don't know where we're going.
Speaker 1:Why did I expose myself like this? Why are we talking about this? I am on the rocks, fucking drunk. Why are we talking about this? Should I cut this out? Why did I just expose myself? Tell me, bridget, is this your plan? You want to fuck me over? Tell me, bridget, you want to fuck your plan. You wanna fuck me over? Tell me, bridget, you wanna fuck on me, you wanna fuck on?
Speaker 2:me.
Speaker 1:Wait, what were we I literally am shocked by this. Good question. You're not even the drunk one. Why are we talking about this? Fuck, oh, I actually just can't turn a-.
Speaker 2:Oh, you can't turn a hoe into housewives. Okay, I'm here to tell you right now you absolutely can the point is shout out to all the hoes who became housewives this Mother's Day.
Speaker 1:Fuck you, bridget. I love you, but right now, fuck you. I wish you nothing but the best in life. Anyway, theo's amazing. I love Theo. He can come anytime Bridget cannot visit, alright, Well, listen, I love Theo. He can come anytime. Bridget cannot visit, all right, well, listen. We've had quite a long podcast. Actually, today is like I know.
Speaker 2:Let's wrap it up.
Speaker 1:We're going to wrap it up. Anyway, as always, bridget's amazing. She's done all the research and I've just collaborated. Shout out to Bridget Melton. Woo-hoo, dr Bridget.
Speaker 2:Melton. Thank you guys so much for listening, even if you're not listening and I'm speaking into an echo chamber into the void.
Speaker 1:It's fine.
Speaker 2:Our favorite listener, tracy rankle thank you so much, everybody for tuning in um. This has been psychotic. Posey, please follow us, we really need money.
Speaker 1:We're poor. Thank you, love you Bye.