Women must first transform themselves into men in order to enter the Pure Land. Thus Kuan-yin was certainly considered to be male originally.
但根據考證，梵語中的「觀世音菩薩」一字，在文法上屬於明顯的「男性單數名詞」；而在許多佛經中，佛祖釋迦牟尼都稱觀音菩薩為「善男子」；再說，佛教本就認為女人業障較重、汙穢不潔，因此要想往生到諸佛的淨土中，必須先「化生」為男子。