The Philippine Supreme Court is allowing a woman who proved her body was naturally turning male to change her name from Jennifer to Jeff, Agence France-Presse reported.
Jennifer Cagandahan, 27, has a rare medical condition called congenital adrenal hyperplasia, which is causing her body to produce male rather than female hormones.
The court also is allowing Cagandahan to change her birth sex from female to male. Her name and sex will be changed on her school records, voter's list, baptism certificate and other public records, AFP reported.
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia can affect both boys and girls, according to the National Institutes of Health. People with congenital adrenal hyperplasia lack an enzyme needed by the adrenal gland to make the hormones cortisol and aldosterone.
Without these hormones, the body produces more androgen, a type of male sex hormone. This causes male characteristics to appear early in males or inappropriately in the case of females. About 1 in 10,000 to 18,000 children are born with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, according to the NIH.
Cagandahan began petitioning the court for the right to change her sex from female to male in 2003.
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