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How Girls Turn into Boys At Puberty in Remote Caribbean Village

How Girls Turn into Boys At Puberty in Remote Caribbean Village

One in 90 girls reportedly turn into boys at puberty due to a rare genetic disorder in Salinas, a remote Caribbean village in the Dominican Republic. The girls called ‘guevedoces,’ who grow a penis by age 12, suffer from a condition called ‘psuedohermaphroditism’. The condition has sadly become so rampant in the village that it is now accepted as a third sex, in addition to being male or female.

A new BBC 2 series called Countdown to Life – The Extraordinary Making of You, featured Johnny, 24, who recalls as a child, he did not have a penis and was brought up as a girl. He said: “I remember I used to wear a little red dress. I was born at home instead of in a hospital. They didn’t know what sex I was. I went to school and I used to wear my skirt. I never liked to dress as a girl. When they bought me girls toys I never bothered playing with them. All I wanted to do was play with the boys.”

When he transitioned from female to male at puberty, his classmates called him names. “They used to say I was a devil, nasty things, bad words and I had no choice but to fight them because they were crossing the line,” he said.

The documentary also featured 7-year-old Carla, who is about to transition. When she fully transitions, she will be called Carlos. His mother, who saw the transition coming, said: “When she turned five I noticed that whenever she saw one of her male friends she wanted to fight with him. Her muscles and chest began growing. You could see she was going to be a boy. I love her however she is. Girl or boy, it makes no difference.”

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The rare genetic disorder is caused by a lack of an enzyme which turns testosterone into dihydro-testosterone, and this prevents the penis from developing. The child therefore looks like a girl until puberty is attained and their bodies naturally produce a second surge of testosterone. They then develop male characteristics including testes and a penis, and are then acknowledged as male.

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