RACHEL BELLE

The Puberty Lady teaches the birds and the bees in Seattle

May 18, 2015, 5:31 PM | Updated: May 19, 2015, 6:39 am

Julie Metzger (center) poses with moms and daughters after one of her classes. (Photo courtesy of J...

Julie Metzger (center) poses with moms and daughters after one of her classes. (Photo courtesy of Julie Metzger)

(Photo courtesy of Julie Metzger)

When Acacia Chiddix’s mom told her 5th grade daughter they were going to class on puberty at Seattle Children’s Hospital, the 10 year old thought, “Oh no, not this again!”

I mean, her mom already told her where babies come from.

“I was about six? And I asked the question and I got the answer,” said Acacia.

But Acacia’s mom thinks there is more to talk about, so she took her to Julie Metzger’s class, For Girls Only: A Heart-to-Heart Talk on Growing Up.

Fifty-seven year old Metzger has been teaching the class around the Puget Sound, and in Palo Alto, Calif., for 27 years, and every single one of them sells out. Last year alone, she talked about pubic hair, periods and sex with 14,000 people.

“The world has a hunger for these topics,” says Metzger. “The human race has been having periods since the dawn of time. But we still don’t talk about them easily.”

I sat in on one of Metzger’s classes, and watched her capture the attention of other girls and women in the Children’s Hospital auditorium.

“Do you guys love talking about puberty? I know, me too!” she answers herself, chipper, as the crowd laughs, easing into the topic.

“And then sometimes do you have sleepovers, and when everybody shows up you go, ‘Hey, a change of plans. Let’s not watch that fun movie, let’s just sit around and talk about puberty.?’ I know, me too! I mean, it’s so amazing to talk about puberty,” she said. “But it it can be kind of confusing. I mean, what is puberty, really? Well, the definition of puberty is how our bodies change from girl to grown-up.”

Girls between 10 and twelve years old sit next to the adult who brought them, some of them wide eyed and fascinated, some of them mortified and hiding behind their hands.

“You’ve gotten taller, you’ve put on weight, you have pimples, greasy hair, BO and hair in new and interesting places,” Metzger said.

“This,” Metzger says, dramatically gesturing at a drawing of the female anatomy, “is a uterus.”

Some of the parents in the crowd have already talked to their kids about puberty and sex. Some haven’t. Most kids will take sex ed classes in 5th grade. But this class allows a daughter and a grown up, be it her mom, her grandma or her dad, to be on the same page.

And unlike a parental birds and bees talk, Julie’s class is unbiased and free of religious or other family values. She tells the girls they have options. They can shave their armpits…or not. They have choices.

“Now, some people, when they start to develop breasts, they start thinking about bras,” Metzger said. “But there is actually no requirement to ever wear a bra. There’s no scientific health reason…Most women in the world don’t own a bra and wear it everyday.”

Curious, nervous girls who are not too excited about puberty can anonymously write down questions for Julie, and she will answer them, a maxi pad comically stuck to her sweater. A lot of the questions are about when they’ll start their period.

“Here is one thing I can absolutely guarantee about the day you start your period. Absolutely, for sure, you will be surprised,” Metzger said. “It can happen in the morning, it could happen in the afternoon, it could happen at night. It can happen standing up, sitting down, sleeping. It can happen at overnight camp, at a friend’s house, in the middle of a soccer game, at a chess tournament.”

I loved Metzger’s class. I wish I had taken it when I was about to hit puberty. But what did Acacia think?

“She made the weird things funny,” Acacia said.

I also found the class to be empowering.

“There are women all over the world having periods in extraordinary places,” Metzger says towards the end of two hours. “In a desert, on the ocean, in a helicopter, in combat. There are women having periods standing in a science lab performing science experiments that will change the world.”

“There is one girl, who has the Nobel Peace Prize, who comes from a country where there are no pads and tampons to wear when you’re at school,” she said. “Who did the work she needed to do to get the Nobel Peach prize, while having her period, in a country called Pakistan? And her name is Malala. She did that work while having periods. So I know you girls can do it.”

There is also a similar class just for boys.

Rachel Belle

Rachel Belle...

Rachel Belle

Belle: This isn’t goodbye, it’s see you later

After 20 years in news radio, I'm leaving my post at KIRO Newsradio to focus on making my podcast "Your Last Meal" full-time!

1 year ago

emily post etiquette...

Rachel Belle

Emily Post’s “Etiquette” goes modern: Advice on pronouns, hugging

In 1922, Emily Post published her very first etiquette book. Since then, 18 editions have been published by five generations of Posts.

1 year ago

Friluftsliv...

Rachel Belle

Combat winter blues with friluftsliv, the Nordic tradition of being outside

Friluftsliv is part of the culture in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Denmark, places that are darker and colder than Seattle in winter.

1 year ago

small talk...

Rachel Belle

Most Americans hate small talk, but Seattleites continue talking about weather

Out of 1,000 people surveyed, 71% said they prefer silence to small talk and 89% of Gen Z use their phones to avoid making small talk.

1 year ago

(Igordoon Primus/Unsplash)...

Rachel Belle

Seattle sperm bank in desperate need of Black donors

Only 2% of American sperm donors are Black men, which is causing a lot of heartache for women specifically looking for a Black donor. 

1 year ago

Photo courtesy of Rosie Grant...

Rachel Belle

Woman cooking recipes engraved on gravestones says they’re all ‘to die for’

You know that recipe your family requests at every holiday, potluck and birthday party? What if you had it engraved on your tombstone?

1 year ago

The Puberty Lady teaches the birds and the bees in Seattle