Guevedoces (translating literally to "penis at twelve [years old]") are also known as also known locally as machihembras ('first women, then man').
They are born born lacking an enzyme that converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone, with external genitalia often attributed to cisgender female children, but at puberty their penises and testes emerge. This geographically-specialized form of being intersex is most often seen in an isolated village called Las Salinas in the Dominican Republic.
Reports prior to the 1970s on guevedoces were scant or nonexistent to western science until Dr. Julianne Imperato, a Cornell endocrinologist, conducted a study on the children and adults that had been thought to be (and were thus raised) female before their pubescence.
Being intersex is not to be confused with being non-binary - the former is based on both identity and physical variations on the typical definition of male or female, while the latter is purely a gender identity.
[This page is a work-in-progress. Additional information, sources/links, and other help is appreciated.]
External Links[]
- The 'Guevedoces' of the Dominican Republic (Link includes nudity, including that of children, for purpose of scientific documentation)
- Organisation Intersex International
- Intersex Society of North America
- UK Intersex Association
- Inter/Act Youth
- Wikipedia