Boys and young men

Getting to know your body is one of the best ways to improve and protect your sexual health. Understanding what happens during puberty, exploring your body and finding out how it responds and knowing what signs to look out for that might mean you're not sexually healthy are all really important.

This section is all about the bodies of boys and young men. It looks at what happens to boys and young men during puberty and takes a closer look at boy's gentials - their penis and testicles.

Just because this section is about boys and young men, that doesn't mean that girls and young women aren't also welcome to look around and find out more. And there's a section on girls and young women that boys and young men might be interested in looking at too.

What is normal?

It is important to remember that everyone develops differently, but we all worry about the way our bodies look. There's lots more information in these pages, but you might like to look at the facts below to put your mind at rest about some of the common worries:

• the penis should hang slightly to one side
• one testicle should be higher than the other
• swelling under the nipple is common
• erections can come and go at embarrassing moments
• penises vary in size and shape (adult penis size is usually 6cm to 10cm long when soft and 12cm to 19cm long when hard)

If you have questions about your body and you can't find the answers here, call Ask Brook on 0808 802 1234. Your call will be confidential. That means we won't tell anyone about your call.