Quote:
Originally Posted by Elsi
Well, most of the women in my family read SF. My mother, both sisters, and my 3 nieces. ...
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[cough]Freaks![cough]
You'll have to take this as a Given Truth (which would suit me perfectly, so then I can just arbitrarily make things up. Like, Elsi, you still haven't paid me back that $50 you owe me), but I recall reading in several newspapers a few years ago (it was one of those stories that got tossed around) that females read more fiction books in
all genres than males did. If I remember correctly, SF was the genre in which they had the lowest percentage, but it was still over 50%. In all other genres it could be significantly moreso. Where gender might matter, females had a significantly greater impact on sales of fiction than males.
So, given the Absolute Truth of my every utterance, and the Total Infallibility of my memory, I believe, Elsi, that "in general" your limited sampling actually expands quite reasonably.
Personally I find that in the niches and back alleys of the internet that are dedicated to SF, I get a pleasant and equal "balance" of genders (where apparent, which it is not usually) that makes for a nice, even-tempered environment, without a particular brand of googly-bit getting in the way of enjoyable conversation.
io9 would be one example.
Cheers,
Marc