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.