Is Eddie supposed to be male??

I've seen this movie MANY times although its been probably 10 years since I last saw it. I get the feeling though that Whoopi Goldberg's character is supposed to be a man. I mean the name Eddie, is a tip off right there, do you know any women named Eddie? Also I swear when she tells Homer (Jim Belushi) her name he laughs and says something to the effect of "that's a girl's name". Which makes no frickin sense at all. I got the sense that the character was supposed to be a man and someone else said the same thing.