Guevedoces: This term refers to individuals who naturally transition from appearing female at birth to male during puberty. This phenomenon has been documented in a secluded village in the Dominican Republic and the eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea. Infants who initially look female begin to exhibit male physical traits as they reach puberty. Locally, these individuals are known by different names: in one region, they are called "at age twelve," and in another, "machihembras," which translates to "first a woman, then a man." In Papua New Guinea, they are referred to as "turnims," meaning "expected to become men."These individuals are genetically male, possessing XY chromosomes, but due to a deficiency in the 5 alpha-reductase enzyme, testosterone is not converted into its active form, dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Without DHT, the external genitalia of the infant appear ambiguous. Research indicates that this condition is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner, requiring the individual to inherit a copy of the defective gene from each parent to be affected.
