Male and female sexual maturation. Artwork showing the outward physical differences between male and female children (left), adolescents (middle) and adults (right). During adolescence the body goes through puberty, or sexual maturation. The gonads (ovaries and testes) mature and become capable of reproduction. Secondary sexual characteristics, which include the growth of body hair, development of breasts, deepening of the voice and changes in body shape and fat distribution, also occur.