Gender Distributions in SF & F

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Davis, Iain E. 
> Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 12:23 PM
> To: dragaera at dragaera.info
> Subject: RE: Gender Distributions in SF & F

> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Andrew Lias [mailto:anrwlias at hotmail.com]
> 
> > So... why?  Why do women, especially young women, tend to
> > avoid science 
> > fiction while embracing fantasy?
> > 
> > I'm curious to hear everyone's.
> ...opinion?
> 
> Some science fiction books are more interested in the 
> "gadgets" than anything else.  Rachel on the other hand, 
> tends to be uninterested in those kinds of books (where the 
> focus is around the "gadget").  I can't immediately think of 
> an example.
> 
> Also, a some SF is un-people-centric, that is, the 
> "interplay" of personalities isn't prominent, or even there at all.

I'm attempting to answer the question "Why do _I_ prefer fantasy to SF?"
(I'm not yet 30 so I still qualify as a young woman, I believe) and
having a difficult time of it (this is attempt #2). I started to say, I
get lost in the futuristic mumbo jumbo, but realized that isn't accurate
because I don't get lost in fantasy mumbo jumbo, and obsolete terms like
"ha-ha" in classic literature intrigue me. I feel really smart because I
know what a ha-ha is.
Having written & deleted pages now, and having only a paragraph to show
for the time I should have been working anyway, I finally conclude that
I'd have to read the SF in question to determine why I don't like it,
and I've got enough studying to do without that.
Rachel