As a man, can I write a story with a female protagonist? :(

This might sound like a dumb thing to ask, but I'm genuinely curious and not sure if it's acceptable. <br><br>When I was about 5 I 'borrowed' a diary from a girl I befriended, and for the rest of my life I've always had an interest in women's communities, media, etc. (If you're wondering what the "etc." is, I'm not going to post here.) <br><br>I have no bad intentions with this, but I've always thought it would be cool to role-play as a woman. So I recently started writing a short story for a class I have, and I'm worried. <br><br>I'm genuinely confused about whether I can do this or not.