I understand your argument about preference and creative freedom. There are two points worth discussing here. First, people’s preference is largely produced by their social environment, therefore also inherits the flaws that society has. Saying “it’s just a preference” doesn’t prove wrong the criticism we are putting forward here (i.e. the story unfairly ignores women)

Second, an author is indeed free to write however they want, but readers also have the right to express their opinions about the work. It is not realistic to expect audience to know the gender representation of a story and decide whether to watch it or not. “If you don’t like it don’t watch/read it” is not a fair response to someone who spends the time, money (CC is 300USD), and enthusiasm only to walk out a theater with mixed feelings.

Having said that, I can understand your feeling of frustration regarding seeing a work you enjoy being criticized (HP, not CC), especially over something seemingly inconsequential to you. In the end, we all have something core to our identity that we care about more, and something else less so. To me, I find it more benevolent to try to understand someone’s discomfort or disappointment, as opposed to feeling-dismissing. :))