Will some parents be offended when being asked, "Is it male or female?"

If I ask the parent about a baby's gender, will it be impolite or not appropriate to say, "Is it male or female?"

Is there any subtle difference, in terms of politeness, among

1. "Is it a boy or girl?"
2. "Is it he or she?"
3. "is it male or female?"

Solution 1:

First you would probably ask if the parents know the sex yet, and the friendliest way to ask the question would be to use boy and girl.

Do you know if it's going to be a boy or a girl?

Male/female sounds too clinical and he/she sounds like you're from Mars.

Solution 2:

Are you talking about for a pregnant woman or for an infant? If you are talking about pregnant woman, "Do you know the sex yet?" is fine. If you are talking about an infant and are worried about offending the parent that you can't tell the sex, I avoid this by jokingly saying something to the baby along the lines of "You're so cute. What's your name?"

Solution 3:

In America, the most commonly heard terminology for the question is

Is it a boy or a girl?

The other two are quite rare and might thus be deemed inappropriate by some. Often times on signs and balloons announcing a baby's birth, you will see:

It's a boy/girl!

Solution 4:

Arguably, the most common way to ask expecting/new parents about their baby's gender is:

Is it a boy or a girl?

The other one is a less common but certainly not unheard of:

Is it a he or a she?

Is it male or female? sounds awkward, especially in this day and age when personal pronouns are used for pets. It would not be out of place, however, to use male/female to qualify new or unborn babies in formal and literary contexts.