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Vivian's true gender

One of the most constant debates among Paper Mario fans is whether or not Vivian is female or male. Normally, nobody would really care and it would be a thing left for otakus to argue about. However, even the most casual fans of the series know about this, and some non-fans are aware of the 'issue' as well. (to keep this article from leaning towards the male or female side, I'll be using the gender-neutral pronoun 'hu'. It's not really necessary, but this article would be bit biased if I kept calling Vivian a her, right?)

This all stems from the Japanese version of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. According to those who own the game and can read Japanese, Beldam and the game itself confirm that Vivian is indeed a male. The incriminating comment in question occurs when Vivian butchers the name of the Three Shadow Sirens in Boggly Woods as 'The Three Shadow Sisters'. "I see three sisters, but then there's you, and you're a man!" In addition, when Vivian joins your party and when you tattle hume in the log, hus description is 'the youngest sister... uh, brother'. This was all changed in the US version, where Vivian is 'plug-ugly' instead of a man and remains the youngest sister.

What evidence is there for the 'Vivian is a man' side of the argument?

The Japanese version of the game has Beldam calling Vivian a man.
In addition, the in-game descriptions of Vivian say hu is youngest brother.
It is quite common for feminine men to be in games in Japan.
The European version of the game (the spanish one, at least) also has Beldam calling Vivian a man.
This was changed in the US version because NoA simply wouldn't allow cross-dressing men in a Mario game (remember that Birdo was a freak mistranslation).

As for the 'Vivian is a girl' supporters...

The US version of the game makes no mention of this insult and Vivian is reffered to as a 'she'.
Calling a woman a man is a great insult in Japan, so Beldam insulted Vivian by calling her a man.
The description and tattle logs are not unbiased in nature. After all, Vivian was only called a 'brother' after Mario and co. heard that comment.
Other than those comments, there is nothing to support a male Vivian in game. No character refers to hume as a male and hu still kisses Mario on the cheek. A feminine male kissing another male may have been too much even for Nintendo of Japan.
The collective name for the Shadow Sirens in Japan roughly translates to female sorcerers.

Which side is correct? There is no consensus as to whether Vivian is male or female. Personally, I feel there is no hard-hitting truth. There are those oddball people who say hu is a hermaphrodite, genderless, or intersexual, but there are few arguments to support those views. I tend to lean on the 'Vivian is a female' side of the argument, since I own the American version of the game and am more accustomed to a female Vivian. However, I have no problem with those who feel hu is male. In the end, I guess it's up to how you would view it.