I have had both, and I think it is the cat and not the sex of the cat that makes the difference. I have had had laid back males as well as playful males and my female cat is a wild thing! You are better off looking at cats and finding one whose personality is a good match for your household.

American Shorthairs have an average/stocky build and fairly round faces with smaller rounded ears. Your cat has a longer more triangular face and larger/more pointed ears and doesn't look particularly like an American Shorthair to me. Many mixed breed cats probably have a bit of American Shorthair in them and your cat may have looked more like that when she was a kitten and naturally had smaller ears and a more rounded face. Technically she's a "Domestic Shorthair" which means a mixed breed cat with short fur and 95% of US cats are domestic short/medium/longhair.