Among the Sakalavas little boys thought to have a feminine appearance were raised as girls. The Antandroy and Hova called their gender crossers
sekrata who,::text like women, wore their hair long and in decorative knots, inserted silver coins in pierced ears, and wore many bracelets on their arms, wrists and ankles. They considered themselves "real" women, totally forgetting they were born males, and through long practice spoke with a woman's voice. Their society thought their efforts to be female natural and believed that they had supernatural protection which punished anyone who attempted to do them harm.
— courtesy of The Gender Centre, Inc.