Is a negative number squared negative?

Here's the issue that the other comments have been missing:

$-3^2$ does not mean "the square of negative three". The exponent takes priority over the negative: it means "the negative of $3^2$". If you want to say "the square of negative three" you write $(-3)^2$. (This also explains the issues with your programming languages - the ones that say $-9$ write it without the function notation doing the grouping for you, so the negative is applied after.)

It is not an opinion but a convention (accepted in all the world as far as I know) :

$$ -3^2=(-1)\cdot 3^2= (-1) \cdot 9 = -9 $$

$ -3^2 = -9 $ now, if you have parenthesis, like this:
$(-3)^2$ , then the answer will be $ 9 $.