Is it possible for a girl to transform into a boy? Girls in an isolated Caribbean village become male and grow pen*ses when they hit puberty
due to a rare genetic disorder.
It is estimated that one in 90 children born in Salinas in the Dominican Republic make the transition by the time they reach 12.
It is so prevalent there that it is no longer considered abnormal and the children are simply referred to as the ‘guevedoces’ which literally
translates as ‘pen*s at 12’
The children, known as pseudohermaphrodite, are explored in the BBC2 series Countdown to Life – the Extraordinary Making of You.
They didn’t know what s3x I was’
The documentary makers meet Johnny, who appeared female at birth and was known as Felicita.
As a child, he did not have a pen*s and was brought up as a girl. He is physically and biologically male a process that started when he was
seven years old.
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 s3x I was.
‘I went to school and I used to wear my skirt. I never liked to dress like a girl.
‘When they bought me girls toys I never bothered playing with them. All I wanted to do was play with the boys.’
Missing enzyme
The rare genetic disorder is caused by a missing enzyme that prevents the production of a type of male s3x hormone dihydrotestosterone
in the womb.
All babies in the womb, whether male or female, have internal glands known as gonads and a small bump between their legs called a
tubercle.
At around eight weeks old, male babies who carry the Y chromosome start to produce dihydro-testosterone in large amounts which turns
the tubercle into a pen*s. For females, it becomes a clitoris.
But some male babies are missing the enzyme 5-α-reductase which triggers the hormone surge. This means they appear to be born
female with no testes and what looks very much like a vag*na.
Then when puberty hits, a large surge of testosterone triggers the male reproductive organs to grow. This causes their voices to deepen
and the development of a pen*s.
Essentially, the development that should have taken place in the womb with these children happens around 12 years later.
INTERS£X: NEITHER TOTALLY MALE nor FEMALE
The condition of being ‘Inters3x’ affects one in every 2,000 births in the UK (although figures may be much higher) and there are an
estimated 30,000 inters3x people in the UK.
There are several known abnormalities that can lead to specific s3xual ambiguity.
So called ‘XX male syndrome’ occurs in people who have two X chromosomes – one of which contains a significant amount of genetic
material from a Y chromosome.
These people appear to be male, but are, in fact, genetically female. Typically, they will possess male s3x organs, but these will often be
underdeveloped.
They will also often develop breasts and maintain a high-pitched speaking voice.
In fact, biologists now recognise a host of conditions, both genetic and otherwise, which are labelled under the umbrella term ‘inters3x’
which replaces older terms such as ‘hermaphrodite’.
Inters3x people may be genetically female, but physiologically male. Some will be true hermaphrodites, producing both eggs and sperm.
Many will have been subjected to gender reassignment surgery’ after birth, sometimes successfully, often not.
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