That's what I always thought. But I'm confused because my scanner itself has the protruding knobs to fit into the empty channels of my antenna. So to me... the end with something protruding would be the Male end and my antenna, the one with the channels that twist onto the "protrudements" would be a female. Meaning I would need a female connector on the coax leading to the antenna
Well, you passed sex ed, you've got that part down.
However, on coaxial connectors, the male/female determination is based off the center conductor. Your scanner has a female BNC connector. It's female because theres a socket that the center pin on the male connector fits into. You can figure out the rest.
anyway, that's where little baby antennas come from.
You made a good choice with the Larsen Tri-Band. Good solid antenna from a reputable manufacturer.
The 800MHz Larsen would have worked well, too. It's about 12 inches long, has a loading coil about 1/3 of the way up. Spring base, very solid. I have one of those on top of my work truck and I've beat the crap out of it on overgrown site access "roads".
The shorter 1/4 wave 800MHz antennas, about 3" tall, will work well, but they have a bit less gain. That could be an advantage if you discover you have some simulcast interference, but for now stick with what you have.
And good move on the trunk lip mount. Import antennas on E-bay can claim all kinds of things, but you'll never know what you've got until it shows up at your door. Larsen is a reputable company that has been making professional antennas for a long time. You probably paid a bit more, but chances are high that it'll outlast your car. I've got 30 year old Larsen antennas that still work and look like new.