In a village in the Dominican Republic, boys are born girls and then their gender changes. And this is not a miracle or a hoax.
In the 1970s, American doctor Julianne Imperato-McGinley heard about the extraordinary village of Salinas in the Dominican Republic, where girls seem to be turning into boys.
Arriving at the place, she was convinced of the truth of the rumors and began to conduct tests. The explanation for the phenomenon was found pretty quickly: there is a lack of the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase, as a result of which the development of the embryo is abnormal. In a normal pregnancy, the fetus, which will become a girl in the future, has two X chromosomes, and the boy is formed with chromosomes X and Y. In the very first weeks, the sex of the child in the womb cannot be determined: sex hormones begin their work approximately at the eighth week after conception.
Under the influence of the Y chromosome, the internal gonads of the embryo produce dihydrotestosterone in large quantities, transforming the genital tubercle into a penis.
In a fetus with two X chromosomes, dihydrotestosterone is not secreted, and the genital tubercle turns into a clitoris. Residents of Salinas, leading a rather isolated lifestyle, transmit a mutation from generation to generation, which does not allow the fetus to form in the usual way.
Therefore, male embryos have the set of chromosomes assigned to them, but the mutation blocks the release of dihydrotestosterone, and they are born as girls. A new surge of hormones occurs during puberty, and then, under the influence of testosterone, some "girls" of Salinas change the shape of their reproductive organs.
Later, the doctor found another isolated group of people with similar symptoms: they live in the eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea. In other parts of the planet, such examples are rare. Researchers believe that in both cases, the carriers of the mutation were some of the distant ancestors of modern villagers, and closely related marriages retained a genetic trait.
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In Salinas, tests showed the presence of the mutation in 12 of 13 families. In fact, this means that every 90th "girl" here turns into a boy no later than 12 years old. This phenomenon in Salinas surprises no one; for such children there is even the term "güevedoce" - from "huevos a los doce", which translates as "penis at twelve years old." Doctors call such people pseudohermaphrodites. The difference from hermaphrodites is that gevedoche do not have male and female genital organs at the same time - the former replace the latter, while in any type of hermaphroditism, an animal or plant is endowed with reproductive organs of both sexes.
Despite the interest of researchers and TV channels, the people of Salinas do not aspire to become famous with this unusual "ability". Only a few daredevils agreed to tell about themselves on camera. Among them - 24-year-old Johnny, who bore the name of Felicita until the age of seven.
He recalls that "until the age of seven he wore a red dress," but he was never carried away by dolls and other games of his friends. He happily accepted the adaptation of his body to his psychological state. Since then, he has had several romances with girls, but he is "still looking for true love."
The reporters also spoke to the family of seven-year-old Carla, who began to transform into Carlos. According to the mother, her daughter had been ignoring the girls in the neighborhood since the age of five; her muscles began to grow in a masculine manner and she was increasingly involved in fights. Scientists note that in addition to possible psychological problems (for example, Johnny admits that he was teased for some time at school), there should be no other difficulties for the Gevedoche.
In addition, the researchers drew attention to the fact that Gevedoche who were raised as girls showed a strong interest in heterosexual relationships. This shows that sexual orientation is more dependent on hormones than parenting.
Anastasia Barinova