I would say that perhaps you may want to just learn how to play 'doubles' and worry less about what sex your partner is.  Would you ask an Intermedate guy to take a mixed stance if he had a horrible backhand? probably not.  You would try and find a way to minimize his backhand shots, or help try and cover them.  Every game you play will have a less powerful or less skillful partner, sometimes it'll be you, sometimes them.  The trick is learn how to overcome the weak spots, playing mixed just because your playing with a girl isn't always the answer.  

If your lady partner was twice as strong as you and asked you to play at the net, would you ?

I play with a Malaysian girl who will always take a level position when serve/recieving but forces her way to a more traditional net position as soon as she can.

If there's a weakness being exploited we come up with a solution together.

We did try the conventional way but her husband doesn't like the way I stare at her bum and the way she wiggles for me before I serve.

Good topic Wins, this is often a contentious subject within clubs and teams and I can certainly relate when it comes to the frustration of mixed doubles. For the most part, I have only really ever played with Ladies that adopt a traditional mixed stance and very rarely leave the net. The plus side of this is that their net play can be exceptionally good but conversely if they are pushed to the rear court they're like a fish out of water. I also have played with a very strong lady who likes to get back to sides as much as possible but as good as she is overhead if the opponents could pin her to the rear court we were fighting a losing battle.

In my opinion some strong female players sometimes want to massage their own ego by proving that they can play sides even if this is at the cost of a victory. Furthermore, from my experience I seldom see an argument on court between a men's doubles pair regarding stance but this is far more frequent between Ladies doubles pairs and mixed pairs.

Another example comes from last season when i Played with my mum. It was a bit of a car crash! Mum is getting on a bit and her badminton is becoming rather limited, however her net play is still incredibly tight so put a strong man behind her and shes hard to beat. Last season however despite spending her entire badminton career at the front of the court she obviously subconsciously didn't trust me playing behind her as I'm not as strong or experienced as her previous partners and would begin inexplicably moving backwards! She knew she shouldn't do it but wasn't entirely confident in me behind her. When this happened we got stuffed! When it didn't happen we generally were very competitive. You can imagine the arguments that ensued between mother and son but the bottom line is that a partnership on a badminton court isn't as easy as just saying 'weak lady at the front, strong man at the back' (or some other borderline misogynistic statement) its about playing with each other over a long period of time, knowing each other strengths and weaknesses and adopting a strategy that fits both your games best. It also means trusting each other. How many of you blokes have charged into the net for a shot that your partner was better positioned for an shanked it into the net eh???

This will generally mean playing the lady at the front but I find that a mixed doubles pair where the Lady is strong enough to move backwards without becoming vunerable the most difficult pairs to adapt to – especially if they do it intermittently throughout a game.

Talk to your partner…it could be that they're actually not confident in their own net play!

I could go on and on about this subject but I'll leave it there for now!

Good stuff Matt, I'm always a bit worried about asking them in case i get the answer ' i don't mind' so asking them which they'd prefer to practice is a great suggestion.

PS –  I know some veterans that would have a FIT if their female partner refused to stand in front!