A Caribbean Village Where Girls Grow Penises And Transform Into Boys After Puberty. Wait, What?

There is a small village in the Caribbean that embraces all of Nature's perfections and aberrations. So much so that its people celebrate three genders - male, female, and pseudohermaphrodite. The third gender sees girls turning into boys after they reach puberty.

BBC

Pseudohermaphrodite is a condition where a person, born with one gender's primary sex characteristics, develop the other gender's primary sex features. And this is precisely what happens in this island village known as Salinas.

The latest BBC documentary - Countdown to Life - the Extraordinary Making of You - one in 90 children, born as girls, naturally morph into a boy. These kids are known as 'guevedoces' which translates to 'penis at 12'.

Medically speaking, this condition occurs due to a rare genetic disorder, wherein an enzyme prevents the growth of the male sex hormones in the womb. As a result, the baby appears as a girl after childbirth.

BBC

This is Johnny, who was born as Felicitia but transformed into a boy after puberty took its course.

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.

BBC

According to Dr Michael Mosley, the BBC presenter:

Guevedoces are also sometimes called ¡°machihembras¡± meaning ¡°first a woman, then a man.¡± When they¡¯re born they look like girls with no testes and what appears to be a vagina. It is only when they near puberty that the penis grows and testicles descend.

You can watch the documentary here: