i never saw Star wars as an excusively male audience product.
I know it was previously marketed toward guys mostly because society and media thought only men like fights, (and only boys would buy the toys) but luckily society knows better nowadays.
Also, i know there are some loud vocal annoying minority of neckbeard fans that dislike women in their fandoms because of "cooties" or whatever weird reason, but is unfair to put every male in the same sack.
In the previous movies there were already strong female characters: Princess Leia, Queen Padme Amidala, Ahsoka and Aayla among others. Amidala and Padme had big and important roles and Ahsoka had a bigger focus on the clone wars spinoffs. Female jedis were already a thing. Would it have been better for one of them to be protagonists?, perhaps.
Personally i think Leia would be more interesting as a protagonist than Luke btw.
And about the previous storytelling goals: Star wars is about a whole universe full of lore, and a fantastic place where aliens and droids are a common thing. A deep world with established themes and conflicts. Star wars is about a journey of spiritual growth for the jedi protagonist (either Luke, Rey, Obi-wan or Anakin, even if the latest fell down) the force is about connecting with oneself. Also, for many old time star wars fans, there is an emotional investment with the oldest cast, so seeing the older characters being easilly overshadowed by Rey skills feels like the writers are dishonoring the franchise`s legacy.