Considering how much this topic has already gotten coverage and talk, I really do not believe it is as imperative as it was. And when the language turns accusatory or discriminatory and makes assumptions about another party on behalf of the benefit of the party being argued for, then it is not equality that is being sought. Equality requires a two-way mutual respect, not simply looking at the rights of one otherwise you simply go from one extreme to the other. This is a problem that social movements have seen numerous times in the past and prevents real progress from taking place. No one party or person is more important than another. The interests of everyone should be the concern of everyone. Only this sort of omnipresent and equal concern is capable of leading humanity to true progress in this kind of a conflict.

However, in terms of using certain stereotypes in anime, I do not believe the primary problem is any form of discrimination or any lack of caring about isolating any individual group. Such a thing would require a preordained malicious intent. The real thing that such stereotypes are evidence of is uncreative and lazy writing. Basically, mass produced and shallow work or even good work with some characters that are not given as much development time. It is essentially a form of archetype or stock character. It is not easy to make every character in a work deep, realistic and compelling so sometimes the minor or side characters are given these sorts of filler traits to basically be plot devices or to help the work flow along. it is not good writing certainly, but it is a lot quicker to develop, and due to the fast-paced demand of the anime industry they tend to take such shortcuts to meet with corporate demands.
As for why fanservice is so popular, that is another product of lazy writing coupled with traditional trends taken to extremes. It is also however, a product of certain issues in Japan's cultural and social system. Particularly, the extreme focus careers and dedication to a given company or putting a large portion of one's time into the work place. These trends have lead to the number of young Japanese people to be on the decline and this means that the population as a whole is getting older. This is because people are not getting married or having kids and are focusing primarily on their careers. But biological needs still persist so many people turn to entertainment to attempt to meet their need for companionship, relationships and well, sex.
This is one aspect to why fanservice is so prevalent, it fill the gap to meet these needs that people are not otherwise able to address. Also, this means that it sells. And as long as it sells in Japan, it will at least have some market. It is also these sorts of anime that tend to be exported to the USA but I do not know enough about international exports to be able to provide a decent explanation for that.

To make a short point, we must remember the cultural context where any given piece of art is coming from. Anime and manga come from Japan, thus they primarily meet the social, cultural and entertainment needs of the Japanese populace and is made by artists immersed in the country's culture. Though I assume everyone here is a fan of these art forms, it must be remembered that external audiences are generally an afterthought for these productions, so our standards on what is proper or not have to come with the knowledge of the role anime and manga play in the society that made them to begin with.