The theme of the pubertaire includes the revelation of the third dimension of the female body : the evolution at puberty of the maternal feminine. The author examines what he would call the maternal genital metaphor. Ordinarily, the erotic play of young adolescents is a symbolization of the masks of the maternal depths. In pathology there is a disavowal of the metaphor, defended by the practices of incorporation, aspects of the fetishizing of the adolescent’s body. Surface sexuality is commonplace at the beginning of adolescence. It can be perpetuated – the example of André Gide is investigated.