Just to way in here.
There has been a few slip ups in SR2,3,&4. The one that sticks with me is, "The Stilwater Butcherer is making HIS way towards Angel...". But that seems to be more common in cutscenes rather than open world gameplay.
In SR2, random pedestrians or enemies will refer to Playa as "He/She" and "Him/Her" based on Playa's voice. But I'm unsure how it works in 3&4.
But in most cutscenes throughout all 3 games, Playa is referred to as "They" and "Them", with only a few cutscenes using "He" and "Him", which was probably just overlooked.
But that post by "Saints Row" does raise some questions.
Like:
What if I want NPCs to refer to my character as Male/Female?
Will NPCs have any reaction to... Let's say: A well-built male wrestler wearing a tight minidress? Or will they just have a generic response that compliments the dress or something?
Basically, to me, it seems like Santo Ileso is going to be populated by NPCs that are completely desensitised and give Playa generic reactions.
NPC: Hey, you're rockin' that beard and handlebar moustache.
Female Playa: Thanks, I've been grooming it for months.
Don't get mew wrong, I think that would be an ideal society, but that would make the game feel too fabricated. Almost like a "Truman Show" scenario. No matter how different or unique you try to be, everyone just behaves as if things are normal.
So I hope the NPCs don't just give Playa generic reactions to unique behaviour, because that would be a let down.
I personally hope to see some typical "Karens" among the NPCs. That would make the game feel realistic.
