Probably. As others have said here no one seems bothered by female leads in good stories - but the focus on gender when it’s a bad story is probably sexist.

I’m likely guilty of this myself, grumbling about “woke nonsense” and blaming the ideological messaging for the bad writing rather than just the bad writers.

It’s not all doom and gloom though - check out this list of books. Lots of highly rated entries there with female protagonists - many of which are targeted at a broad audience, not just women.

Isn’t it still a straight line from the perspective of someone travelling it? It just appears curved because you’re looking at it from outside the curved surface.

The standard federal minimum wage still applies. If tips aren’t enough to get you there then the employer has to make up the difference.

Tips are literally a subsidy paid to your employer so that they don’t have to pay you (just the $2.13 federal tipped minimum wage).