can a female A USB port be used on an OTG host?
The physical connector is not mandatory for it to work. It's mandatory to be in compliance, and to frankly not confuse the end user. If your device is going to be a full time host, regardless of its OTG capabilities, then go right ahead and use the full size USB A female connector. That's a perfectly legit use. In this case, the ID pin of your microcontroller should be permanently wired on your PCB for host mode, if you can't do it in your code.