Puberty Workshops for Girls: Rebel Girls Meetings

What we pass on — or don't — to our daughters

When a young girl enters puberty, what do we actually tell her?

It depends.

It depends on the family, the culture, the inherited taboos. In previous generations, girls were given very little — or no — information about what was happening in their bodies. Periods arrived by surprise. The body changed without explanation. No questions were asked because no one knew they could be.

Thankfully, things have been changing in recent years. Many parents make real efforts to talk to their daughters, to name things, to break taboos. And that is a beautiful evolution.

But there is a new challenge.

Today, a young girl is not short of information. She receives it from everywhere — at home, at school, with friends, and especially on screens. The problem is no longer necessarily silence. It's noise. It's the mixture of what is accurate and what is not, what is age-appropriate and what is not, what is caring and what is anxiety-inducing or sexualised too early.

This needs to be sorted through. And a young girl cannot do that sorting alone.

That is why I created these puberty workshops:Rebel Girls Meetings / Encontros de Meninas Rebeldes: a space between two extremes. Neither the silence of past generations, nor the overexposure of screens. Reliable, scientific, age-appropriate information, in a caring and safe environment — with room for emotions, questions, and even the spiritual.

Why knowing your body changes everything

There is something radical about knowing your own anatomy.

Not just the words — uterus, ovaries, vagina — but understanding what is actually happening. Why breasts hurt on certain days. Why mood shifts throughout the month. Why some weeks you feel invincible and others completely flat. That is not weakness. That is not madness. That is biology — and it has its own logic, beauty and intelligence.

A girl who understands her cycle no longer endures it. She reads it. She navigates it.

A girl who knows her genitals by their real names — not euphemisms, not roundabout words — has a different relationship with her body. She can talk about it. She can say no. She can say yes. She can notice when something is wrong. She has vocabulary for her own life.

And a girl who has learned that her emotions are part of her cycle, that the fatigue before her period is real and legitimate, that the creative surge after ovulation is not random — this girl grows up with self-knowledge that most adult women never received.

Why among girls, and why in a group

There are things that don't get said in front of boys.

Not because they are hidden — but because mixed company changes something. Awkwardness sets in. The other's gaze filters what you dare to say. Girls censor themselves, compare themselves, perform.

Among girls, something relaxes.

Questions come more easily. Doubts are shared — and you discover you are not the only one who didn't understand what was happening the first time you saw blood. Not the only one who felt ashamed. Not the only one who had those questions.

That is what sisterhood is: not an empty word, but the concrete experience of not being alone.

And in a group, something even more powerful happens: girls educate each other. The one who knows explains. The one who is afraid receives. The one who is ashamed sees others speak without shame — and the shame begins to dissolve.

Because individually, it is not as powerful. In a group, we share, compare information, discuss. We gradually learn to lift taboos — and to talk about these subjects in a healthy way with friends. That is a skill they carry with them far beyond the circles.

That is why I work in groups, with regularity. One day is a beginning. Meetings that repeat, month after month, are a transformation.

What changes over time with these puberty workshops

I have seen girls arrive at the circles with hunched shoulders, eyes on their shoes, unable to say the word 'period' without going red.

And I have seen those same girls, a few months later, explain the hormonal cycle to a friend with a precision and ease that moved me.

It is not magic. It is repetition in a safe space.

Trust does not build in a single day.

That is why I value the regularity of our meetings — because it is over time that the real questions emerge. Not the surface questions, but the deeper ones.

Nothing is ever compulsory in our circles. No girl is forced to speak, to share, to testify. You can listen. You can draw while you listen. You can spend an entire day without saying a word and leave with something.

Anonymous questions on a piece of paper free those who cannot yet speak aloud.

We move at the pace of the group, and at the pace of each girl. I always make sure they are ready before going further on any subject.

A complete approach: body, science and spirituality

What I love about this work is the alliance between several levels.

On one side, I am a naturopath and I am committed to scientific accuracy. We talk about real anatomy, physiology, hormones, cycles. I name organs by their real names. I bring visual materials — diagrams, anatomical charts, concrete models to handle, educational and playful resources. Because concrete knowledge is power.

On the other side, the female cycle is not reducible to biology. It is also a living rhythm, with its inner seasons. The follicular phase like spring — the seed growing, energy rising. Ovulation like summer — fullness, openness, radiance. The luteal phase like autumn — withdrawal, sensitivity, letting go. And the period like winter — rest, renewal.

Learning to read this rhythm is learning to listen to yourself in a way that few adult women have ever mastered.

The hands-on workshops — homemade cosmetics, plant preparations, natural remedies — are not there for decoration. They anchor this knowledge in the body. We make things with plants. We understand what we put on our skin. We discover herbalism, essential oils, natural cosmetics, simple and accessible care. Hands busy, tongues loosen — and questions come differently, more freely.

Cycles as seasons

The menstrual cycle is not just an inconvenience. It can be understood as an intelligence.

For centuries, in many cultures, women organised their lives in connection with their cycle. They knew when to withdraw, when to create, when to act, when to rest. That knowledge was lost — replaced by the injunction to perform the same way every day of the month, regardless of inner phases.

Girls who learn this early have a head start. Not to live outside the world, but to know themselves well enough to navigate it.

The topics we explore together in the puberty workshops

Topics evolve according to the age and maturity of the group — we do not cover the same subjects with 9-year-olds and 15-year-old teenagers.

Everything is done progressively, respecting each girl's own pace.

Among the topics we regularly explore:

• Puberty changes — body, hormones, body hair, perspiration, breasts

• Female genitalia — anatomy, physiology, real names

• Periods — how they work, different types of protection, day-to-day management

• The menstrual cycle and its phases — understanding what happens each month

• Emotions linked to the cycle — validating what we feel

• The image of the female body — what media and screens show us, and what is real

• Friendships — jealousy, sisterhood, mutual support, how other girls see us

• First romantic experiences — depending on the group's maturity

• Consent and boundaries — knowing how to say no, knowing how to hear no

• Sexuality and contraception — covered progressively, for older groups

• Cosmetics and skin — what we are sold, what we can make ourselves

• Plants and natural remedies — accessible herbalism, everyday care

And of course, the questions the girls bring themselves — often the most important ones.

Who we are

Fanny — holistic hygienic naturopath, mother of three daughters, I have been supporting the natural health of women and adolescents for years. Female education is central to my life. I see it as a mission as much as a deep pleasure.

Alya and Zia, my two eldest daughters, participated in these circles when they were younger. They have been immersed in women's health since childhood and now share their knowledge in turn — each with her own personality, energy and way of being with the girls. Receiving from three women at different stages of life is a richness I hold dear.

What they say about it

L., 19: "I attended these workshops with Fanny from age 12 to 15. I learned how my body and my cycle work, how to identify my ovulation. I also really enjoyed the conversations about romantic relationships — it helped me build confidence and seek healthy, consensual relationships."

M., a mum: "My daughter attended Fanny's workshops. She loved them and kept talking about these subjects with her friends between meetings. The topics Fanny covers are really varied and the girls feel genuinely at ease with her."

A., 12: "I really enjoy these days. We do fun activities, we laugh and we learn so much. I want to make more cosmetics, do more drawings and talk about girl stuff."

In practice

The Encontros de Meninas Rebeldes take place in Aljezur, Portugal.

I also travel to France, Switzerland and beyond for single days or multi-day gatherings.

I also occasionally organise Summer camps — several days together, to go even further.

The circles are open to girls according to their maturity and stage of puberty, not strictly by age. Because every girl grows at her own pace — and that is exactly what we honour.

To go further

I also offer naturopathy consultations for young girls — alone or accompanied by a parent, in person or online.

I support teenagers in their health: first periods, pain, skin, nutrition, emotions, first relationships. I answer their questions — without judgement, ever.

I am here for you 🌸