Adolescence isn’t easy. With puberty comes immense mental and physical change — and a self-consciousness about how you and your body are observed, treated and understood. Bronwen Parker-Rhodes’s previous Op-Docs shed light on what can be isolating about childbirth and menopause. But what’s left unsaid begins even earlier, when girls are often made to feel strange and ashamed about their bodies.

In Bronwen’s short film “Just Girls,” above, girls ages 14 to 17 open up about the excitement, confusion and anxiety of going through puberty today. What they share speaks not just to their peers — or parents — but to all women whose coming-of-age experiences went unacknowledged. Bronwen hopes that rather than gloss over what happens during puberty, we can share it more openly.

Read more: https://nyti.ms/3Isj703
Watch “Menopause Stories:” https://youtu.be/MRSH-UM5EE0
Watch “After Birth:” https://youtu.be/3rk3YdMXg9c

More from The New York Times Video:
Subscribe: http://bit.ly/U8Ys7n​
Watch all of our videos here: http://nytimes.com/video​
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nytvideo​
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nytvideo​
———-
Op-Docs is a forum for short, opinionated documentaries by independent filmmakers. Learn more about Op-Docs and how to submit to the series. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@NYTopinion).