Peripubescence

Peripubescence is the phase of development that is at the first onset of puberty or in the early stages of puberty.

It is commonly believed that "puberty" begins when secondary sexual characteristics begin to appear, such as when axillary hair ("armpit" hair), and pubic hair appear. In fact, puberty begins before any of these obvious signs appear.

Hormonal changes which precede obvious signs of puberty may begin at ages 7, 8, 9, or 10. This stage is the prepubescent stage of human development.

For a discussion of this, see: The magical age of 10? | Heretic TOC, Tom O'Carrol's blog.

His blog is based on the paper linked to below. Here is the abstract of that paper:

Abstract

Developmental processes of “puberty” and their cultural contexts in understanding the emergence of sexual subjectivity, especially sexual attraction, prior to gonadarche are critically examined. In particular, we consider the hypothesis that “sexual attraction” follows the onset of adrenal puberty, termed adrenarche, precipitating the development of stable and memorable attraction toward others approximately by the age of 10. In a prior study, the authors suggested that adrenarche is a significant source of this developmental change in sexuality (McClintock, M., and Herdt, G., 1996). The inferential evidence from New Guinea is compared with recent studies from the United States, including clinical findings on “precocious puberty.” We conclude with the question of whether the age of 10 is a human universal in the development of attraction and sexuality.

External links

[https://www.ipce.info/sites/ipce.info/files/biblio_attachments/herdt_-_the_magical_age_of_10_2000.pdf The Magical Age of 10 (.PDF)]