I realize it's not the spirit of the story, but we've seen several AI characters switch bodies. Gender is just another choice for the wearer. If Bubbles uploads into a hunky male firefighter-bot, would things go more smoothly?
I disagree. Winslow identified himself as a boy before getting a humanoid chassis. Pintsize seems to be in a genderless chassis but identifies himself as male. It is explained in 347 that gender is software dependent, not hardware; though Winslow stating "I
think I'm a boy" suggests that Jeph may be changing that dynamic somewhat as he humanizes the AI characters (and maybe due to taking a more nuanced approach to gender identity in general, e.g. Claire). And Bubbles seems pretty well integrated with her body. Perhaps not as much so as Roko, but certainly more so than Punchbot (who seems completely unfazed by massive physical trauma).
Regardless of how gender functions with AI, should Bubbles fundamentally alter who she is for the sake of Faye's comfort? Even if it was as easy as altering a line in a config file, is it appropriate to treat it as casually as changing shirts?
(Awgiedawgie and Fayelovesbubbles beat me to it, so a massive "Hell, yeah!" to the both of them)