Young Writers Society

I've got a question that could perhaps be best answered by a young woman (or a pediatrician, but I doubt YWS has many of those). I have a story starter in which one of the main characters is physically underdeveloped.

Though she’d reached her full height, her body was still a girl’s.

My question is, what might cause such a condition? Is it reversible by say, her eating well if she's been starved?

It doesn't have to be a condition, it's just a body type. Not everyone has curves or big breasts or slim faces. It's the same with boys, but it's not as obvious. You've seen boys that look very skinny or tall or have bigger hips, same principal. Everyone's different and sometimes bodies don't form into what's considered particularly "feminine" or "masculine" or even what people deem as attractive.

But maybe you had just wanted your character to have a condition behind this? If so I wouldn't know specifically.

Hope that was somewhat helpful!

EDIT: Or maybe you just mean height-wise? I think it's the same idea, but nutrition could for sure play a huge roll.

Thanks, Socks. I'll admit, I was hoping to pin a specific condition to her (shame on me) so I'd have some idea of what I'm doing. Be that as it may, the story's more about Matan (that's her name) deals with rejection.

Do you want to be "tagged" when I post, or is helping me out its own reward?

Ah, then I'll let someone else that knows more about different conditions answer your questions XP @StellaThomas is probably the gal to ask.

Might as well let me know when you post it.

There are lots of reasons that a child won't grow, and lots of reasons a girl won't hit puberty!

Any malnourishment - whether it's anorexia nervosa, poor nutrition, coeliac disease will stop a girl growing. That said, even though menarche starts at about 13, girls' bodies start to change a couple of years before that. After menarche, most girls will only grow a few inches (so their height when they get their periods dictates their final height). Most chronic disease of childhood, like diabetes for example, can slow growth and puberty.

For specific syndromes, Turner's Syndrome - one X chromosome - springs to mind, but this has specific body changes to the neck and stature. Other chromosomal aberrations and mismatches between chromosomes and outward body - dubbed "intersex" means girls will be "boyish" for a long time until appropriately investigated and found to have one X and one Y chromosome, meaning they are genetically "male" and sometimes have testicles instead of ovaries, meaning they never start developing female sexual characteristics.

Emotional stress can stop a child growing, in which case their growth will be stunted as well as puberty.

Hope I helped!

-Stella.

I've read a bunch of stories in which a woman laments that she doesn't have a fuller figure... and not because of any condition, but rather because that's just her body type. So, like Holysocks said, it could just be body type.

If the emphasis is not on this condition, it might be better just to state that she was not happy with her body since she felt like a beanpole and move on with the story! Most girls and women are unhappy with how their body looks, so females will automatically understand how this feels.