Actress-content creator Kusha Kapila discussed the emotional complexities of puberty with actress Soha Ali Khan. In Soha’s podcast All About Her, Kusha spoke about why having an open conversation about puberty is so important and revealed that it can be such a challenging time for teenagers due to physical changes and social pressures.
Kusha said: “I also think that puberty is a very emotional time for any teenager, especially because your face is changing, your body is changing, your appearance is completely changing. Some women probably will develop breasts sooner than their classmates.”
She recalled that when she “was 10 or 11”, she started to look more “mature than the other girls so I was a little conscious about it.” “Also, it is a very scary time for any teenager as they have to be very careful with who they are interacting with.
So I remember I went to Goa with my friends and a few girls asked me about my age and I lied that I am 2 years older. Because I looked 10 to 11 years old. So that can be a very challenging time for teenagers.”
Kusha said that even now there are so many girls who feel insecure. “Even now I have a page where I tell women what to wear underneath. There are school-going girls who ask me what to wear under their shirt.
Now when I see this cycle, women don’t get a lot of days for themselves.” “There is menstruation phase, follicular phase etc. and we are left with 4–5 days only. And obviously nobody can say this to us ‘Are you on your periods?’ And men shouldn’t do it.
Especially in the workspace, maybe the way they are doing it. But we are struggling with our hormones a lot. Especially if you have PCOD etc. So we can understand what a rollercoaster can be.”