We discussed this at uni, in terms of literature. It does indeed seem like a book with a male main character is often seen as gender neutral, and both genders might be able to identify with the MC, while if the MC is a female, everyone is pointing out it is a book about a WOMAN, while no one would refer to the male MC as a MAN. Like wow look... so cool... this MC is a MAN, MAN literature etc. The female MC is always a woman first and a human second. For the man it is the other way around. A male usually will not identify with a female MC.

The reason is of course that the man has been seen as more valuable. So the man has been made the human. While the woman is a subspecies of human.

Therefore, it is "OK" to dress like a man and cut your hair short, because then you take a step up. If you wear a skirt and makeup, you take a step down and show you are inferior. This is why this is much more sensitive and much less "gender neutral".

As long as females will be seen as non representative of the human race and worth less, gender neutral will equal male. Some people think we live in an equal society, but in reality, we do not.