Güevedoces: people who change sex at puberty?

In one region of the Caribbean, people are born who appear to change sex when they enter puberty.

The process of development of the fetus in the mother's womb involves a whole network of chemical and organic reactions that make the baby's evolution possible. But this development, which works like perfect machinery, is sometimes altered, causing all kinds of organic anomalies.

This is the case of güevedoces, a very curious phenomenon quite common in the Dominican Republic. in which some girls, when entering puberty, undergo a kind of natural sex change.

Who are the güevedoces?

Güevedoces is an appellative given to a series of people from the Dominican people from the Dominican Republic born with a chromosomal alteration. imperceptible at birth that causes the following phenomenon: babies born with the appearance of ambiguous genitalia, and who are usually assigned the female sex, undergo a masculinization process at puberty.

These individuals actually possess male chromosomes (XY). However, during fetal development, however, they grow up to develop genital ambiguity.. At birth, they tend to be assigned as female and at puberty, at approximately 12 years of age, there is a growth of the penis and the descent of the testicles.

Moreover, if there is something that makes this phenomenon even more fascinating is that it occurs almost insignificantly throughout the world, but nevertheless, in the province of Barahona, in the Dominican Republic, it appears in approximately 1 in every 50 births, it appears in approximately 1 out of every 50 births in which the sex of the baby is determined to be female. Because of this huge number of cases, considering the incidence of this condition in the world population, children born with these characteristics are called güevedoces.

A type of pseudointersexuality

This genital alteration, considered to be a type of male pseudointersexualitywas described for the first time in the Dominican Republic in the 70's of the last century by the North American doctor and endocrinologist Julianne Imperato-McGinley. As a result of studies and investigations of people with these characteristics, it was determined that the güevedoces suffered a deficit of the enzyme 5-alpha reductase.

Deficiency of this enzyme causes a physical disorder known as hereditary male pseudointersexuality. Adequate levels of this enzyme are essential for testosterone essential for testosterone to be converted into dihitestosterone.If this does not occur due to a lack of 5-alpha reductase, masculinization of the external genitalia cannot take place during fetal development.

In the specific case of güevedoces, the increase in testosterone levels during puberty generates a response in the organism, causing the growth of the penis and the descent of the testicles.

How do they develop physically?

Normally, during the development of the first weeks of gestation, the fetus does not have any specifics.he fetus does not have any specific sex organs.The only development that takes place in both sexes is the development of the nipples. Then, at about eight weeks of gestation, the sex hormones come into play again.

Birth and infancy

If the baby is genetically determined to be male, the Y chromosome is responsible for the transformation of the gonads into testicles sending testosterone to the tubercle, where it is converted into the hormone dihitestosterone. This hormone, as mentioned above, enables the masculinization of the sexual organs and converts the tubercle into the penis.

In the case of possessing chromosomes corresponding to the female sex, the synthesis of dihydrosterone does not occur and the tubercle then becomes a clitoris.

However, in persons known as güevedoces, in whom this type of pseudointersexuality appears, the symptoms are limited to the appearance of the external genitalia, which appear phenotypically as female.. Sometimes before puberty, there is a small penis that can be perceived as a clitoris, a bifid scrotum and an open urogenital sinus in the perineum.

The testes are usually located hidden in the inguinal canal or in the labio-scrotal folds, while the internal structures derived from Wolf's duct (epididymis, vas deferens and seminal vesicles) develop without any abnormalities.

Puberty

With the passage of time and the onset of puberty, as is the case with all young people, the individual experiences a great deal of exposure to the environment, the individual experiences a great deal of exposure to endogenous testosterone.. That is, testosterone produced by our own body. This produces a masculinization of both the physical features of the person, as well as the genitalia in the case of the güevedoces.

This masculinization, in addition to the usual appearance of deep voice, an increase in Muscle mass, in people with a hereditary male pseudointersexuality of this type also causes the growth of the penis and the decrease and increase in size of the testicles. In addition, no breast development similar to that of the female. similar to that of the female.

On the other hand, in most cases typically male facial hair is barely visible and the size of the prostate is significantly and the size of the prostate is significantly smaller compared to the average.

As a result of the case study, it has been determined that güevedoc individuals experience normal erections and can engage in fully penetrative sexual intercourse, but without the ability to inseminate due to the urethral arrangement.

The results of the Imperato-McGinley study

After years of studying the güevedoces, Dr. Imperato-McGinley discovered that in most cases people identify with their male gender and with a heterosexual orientation, despite having been raised in theDespite being raised as girls, they choose to retain male genitalia changes.

However, on other occasions the person feels part of the female gender, so it is common for some of them to undergo a sex change operation that gives them female genitalia.

As a result of this, the doctor and her team concluded that when it comes to adopting a sexual and gender identity, the influence of hormones is more important than that of the female, the influence of hormones is stronger than the conditioning factors of upbringing..

Regardless of one case or another, in most cases the appearance of male genitalia is a shock for the person, who may experience a series of crises in their identity, as this causes a change in the person's gender role.

Finally, although this phenomenon is relatively common in this area of the Dominican Republic, the güevedoces are usually repudiated in society, being victims of a part of the population that does not accept them. This entails a risk of marginalization and social isolation.