I wonder if a male can play a female character the right way...
I think that's a question that only you can answer.
I've known several guys who liked to play female characters, and who were good at it. Just as we have plenty of women who play male characters (*cough*), and often prefer that.
The bigger question, I think, is whether the style of "play" at RTH would appeal to you. I think you've mentioned (here and elsewhere, like at SoC) that you have primarily been a roleplayer. But, I would caution, RTH is *not* a RP group in the usual sense of the term. We usually talk in terms of "players" and people owning and operating a character, but our style of play is quite different from the way I understand most RP groups to operate. We don't do play-by-post or other types of "live" storylines.
Instead, RTH builds storylines through members writing largely stand-alone stories (sometimes, serialized if they are longer). Some members are writers, while others are artists. Unlike most RP groups, you may not only write for / draw for your own character, but others -- in fact, it's rather expected. (A character's owner always gets to see a story or art and approve it, or ask for whatever changes they want, before it is publicly posted.) Members who are primarily artists can often trade art to others to get stories written. (Or their characters may wind up being involved in others' stories anyway.) Both writers and artists may write in the "present" (we do have a timeline that advances at the rate of 1=1 in-story to real-life year), but may also explore any point in a character's history, or write about the tribe's ancestors.
This is the style of play I have been used to since I joined a fandom at age 12, back in the early 80s.
But I gather it can be an adjustment for some folks who are used to RP, and thus aren't used to writing full stories, or writing for the characters of others.
RTH is also "moderated" in the sense of having a council (or board) that makes sure players stay within the group's guidelines, and having a Story Approval Team that subjects submitted stories to an editing process -- something that can also be an adjustment for some folks. Stories are reviewed both for grammar/spelling, and also for how they fit into the world's guidelines. (Which are very similar to general ElfQuest guidelines, but in some cases refined for our particular group.)
All of this means that if you haven't experienced a group like RTH before... you might be better off joining as a Reader Member, and getting a feel for it, before taking the plunge of adopting a character (and being subjected to participation requirements and so on). Reader Members essentially are like "lurkers with benefits", get a bit more access to our forums, and they are allowed to make creative contributions (for any current character or ancestor; with the usual approval process). So it can be a way to test whether you like the way the group operates, without pressure. Also, RMs get first crack when characters become adoptable (which is unpredictable).
So, for example, if you think you prefer to play a male character, you might join as an RM; do some reading; make submissions for some of the existing male characters; and if/when a male becomes available for adoption, you'd be in a very good position to apply. On the other hand, you could find that the way the group operates doesn't work for you -- which is fine! we know it isn't going to work for everyone -- in which case, you won't have had the frustration of dealing with the pressure that comes with owning a character.
Long story short: if you're unsure, I'd suggest Reader Membership for a bit, to explore further.
