Regarding the ''playing as female'' thing. Perfectly fine, majority of my characters are female too because my backstories are usually more fitting for a female character. If I do play a male then the background tends to be less dramatic and more ambitious. So I thought it was rather rude for that guy to pick on you just for this.
And yes, I'm with Red to. I'm a big Nord lover but I feel that a redguard would freshen it up a little bit.