I finally picked up Pokemon Ruby today, but while flipping through the instruction manual I was pretty disappointed to see this note (emphasis mine):
In Pokemon Ruby (or Sapphire), you can choose from either a boy or a girl. No matter which one you choose, there is no difference in the story. However, it is recommended that you choose a character with the same gender as yours."
Bah, how is it Nintendo's place to "recommend" gender roles for children? I decided to play a girl (I named her "Drew") just to go against Nintendo's "recommendation."
I was also amused by a literal interpretation of this sentence: "Your gender and name cannot be changed later."