This link reminds me of a conversation I had not too long ago with a male reader of fantasy. He told me that he only read books by male authors. Under further questioning, he admitted that he had never even tried female speculative fiction authors. But--why? Sexism? Hearing bad reviews of books authored by female authors? Some sort of subtle marketing that brands certain authors so that they deliberately appeal only a segment of the reading population?
Or maybe this is just a symptom of a more widespread trend. Like how it's perfectly acceptable for girls to wear pants but society still thinks it's weird for boys to wear skirts.
