I answered a mix of both.
My male dogs have been mama’s boys, eah and every one of them. My current male Nick is the only intact male I’ve kept (He’s a show dog) and they ALL have been incredibly MY dogs. My females are a little more independant but always loving.
My cats, I prefer the boys, they are more loving, but the spayed female I have now is incredibly sweet too.
No particular preference. I do like that you don’t have to ‘fix’ boys (I supervise my pets closely. As long as they are not roaming, there is almost zero chance of them impregnating someone. And unlike unaltered female dogs and cats, there’s an almost non-existent risk of infection and disease), and it’s cheaper if you do.
I have two female cats, one male cat (all altered), one female dog (altered), two male dogs (one altered, one intact - the intact one is far more obedient and never leaves my sight of his own choice) right now. With my current pets, the boys are clingy, the girls more independent (but still affectionate), which is what I have found to be true in general. Beyond that most of the variation in personality is individual.
We have four little kitties, 3 boys and 1 girl. The boys are so outgoing, one is my old buddy from ages ago who is very friendly and loving and the other two are playful & kittenish (one still is a kitten, kind of) and have really taken a liking to each other. The girl is less social but still a darling and enjoys attention.
When I was staying with my parents I adored their female ocicat. She’s playful and affectionate and a total attention whore. I’ve never seen a cat like her, she’s quite a character.
Depends on the species, I think.
We tended to have female dogs when I was growing up; not sure why (I think my parents saw them as less likely to wander… the fact that they never neutered their one male dog may have affected that).
Female hamsters are MUCH less tame-able than male hamsters. So if hamsters, I’d want a male.
We’ve had a total of 5 guinea pigs. 2 of the females are as friendly as I could ever ask for. The third is skittish but will let me touch her… sometimes. Both of the males have consistently bolted at the sight of a hand approaching them. So for guinea pigs, female for sure.
I’ve had male and female cats and, chosen carefully, either can be a wonderful pet. A friend who had a female tortie cat… well, that was the nastiest cat I’ve ever known. Hence the “chosen carefully” qualifier. Similarly for dogs - I’ve known wonderful dogs of both genders, and one truly “bitchy” female.