Just had to point out that the a front page article of today’s New York Times quotes a professional woman saying:
What’s the world coming to? 
ETA: I just noticed that the same article also quotes another professional woman named Lolita. Shocking.
Most folks I know about my age 64 thought of puperty as when hair started to show on face, underarms, pubic area etc. I have never heard of measuring the testacles as a guage back then. It may very well be more accurate as to when puperty actually starst but I doubt the validity of a comparison. Looking back I know the hair started growing around 12 and the urges started happening around 10 but were not all that recognizable.
Puberty’s earliest sign happens with something totally non-sexual. When their feet start to grow out of all proportion, hold on to your hat.
HoneyBadgerDC, I agree. I think most experts see it as a transitional PERIOD which takes several years (with various milestones along the way), while the public perception seems to be more that it’s a sudden event, as shown by the phrase “to hit puberty”.
There’s a whole porn industry dedicated to the contrary – that feet ARE sexual. ;). (Or so I’ve been told.)
I wonder if growth spurts are related to puberty, I went through a growth spurt at just about that age.
Growth spurt of the testicles?
No, physical size. This seemed to be the age where the boys got taller than the girls, 6th and 7 grade ususally if I remember right. The pubes might have experienced a frowth spurt there as well.
Frowth spurt? Methinks thine auto-correct hath outed thee as a ren-fest attendee. 
spurt
snortle
Is it just me, or does this thread seem chock-full of double entendres to anyone else?
Puberty starts when boys start to show some spunk.
Female, no sons, no brothers.
I was under the impression that the big marker for male puberty was the voice.
The voice is a very late marker. Before that there’ll be aching legs, really sore nipples, rages and sweats. I’m male.
I remember the girls getting their growth spurts first, so they were taller than the boys in 6th and 7th grade. The boys got theirs later, and were taller than the girls by about 9th grade.