> Choosing a male protagonist is default
Choosing a protagonist whose gender (and race, etc.) is the same as the author's is the default. I don't think anyone asks Margaret Atwood why she chooses a female protagonist.
Choosing a protagonist whose gender (and race, etc.) is the same as the author's is the default. I don't think anyone asks Margaret Atwood why she chooses a female protagonist.
It is, for example, why Rowling published Harry Potter as "JK" and not "Joanne"—she didn't want her own gender to affect how readers perceived her book. A large number of female authors have done this over the years.
There does seem to be some asymmetry where male authors struggle to write female characters well and are questioned about it more. I'm not sure where the imbalance comes from.