I would disagree with the idea that wanting the answer but not caring what it is once you know it is incongruous, not knowing the answer can lead to awkward situations and possibly serious social faux pas's, the partner could even be seriously offended by finding out that OP doesn't know. — Faceplanted 1 min ago

@OldPadawan: does it work that way also on private ground in France? In Germany, AFAIK, the police/Ordnungsamt will not bother about cars on private ground unless they pose a safety risk (say, fire lane blocked). You can call a towing service, but you have to pay them first and can then sue the owner of the car for the fees. Definitively something to find out before calling the towing service! — cbeleites 1 min ago

Obligatory Eddie Izzard — Evpok 1 min ago

As someone who comes from ex-Soviet place, speaks Chinese, and interacts with Chinese people a lot, generally(!) the coarse humor or tease is acceptable, so you may try being competitive in the gym and throw as a joke "Come on, you can do more push ups than that, be a man". Not ideal way, but in context of them being Chinese, that could work. Also, try learning some of the language. You could ask them to teach you words for male, female, and how to ask "Are you a boy or a girl?" question, and then immediately try to ask them that. Not ideal, but can work in this case. — Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy 1 min ago

"Let's compare mug shots." +1. Are there any countries that allow their identification cards to list a sex that doesn't correspond with the person's genitalia? — Mazura 31 secs ago