I would like to go back to this point:
There is always a point in allowing gender choice in any game that ever uses third person pronouns or any other gendered language to refer to the protagonist. Think of it this way: no matter what, someone is making a gender choice for the protagonist. The question then is whether the choice is in the hands of the author or the player… and if it’s not a major difference to the story, why should the author keep the choice from them?
I saw someone note that it’s quite similar to letting the player choose the main character’s name (I forget who said that or I’d credit the post)… which, yeah, I’m not seeing anybody argue that you shouldn’t include a name choice in a game unless it’s going to change the plot, so clearly it is possible for there to be choices that are reasonable to include without having such a big impact.
If it means something to the player, it’s meaningful.