There are times when saying female is unavoidable and yet I’ve still been criticized online for it in the past. For instance: you wouldn’t say “woman coworker”, you would say “female coworker”. I use the word male as well but I don’t always have an opportunity to use them both in one comment. And then I feel awkward for using the word “female” even though it’s a perfectly valid word. I feel like this recent distaste for the word is pretty forced, and that it’s all a matter of context.