Science Fiction - a guy thing?

As a lady who has always been into science fiction in any shape or form - novel, film, tv etc, I wondered why the genre doesn't seem to appeal to women in the same way as it does to guys.

I always find it difficult to find female friends who are willing to go to the cinema to see sci fi films; their usual reply is 'It's not my thing', and while my female friends are exchanging novels at work , nobody wants to read my sci-fi!

Obviously there are ladies who like sci fi but I just wondered what other people thought about the reasons for it not being so popular with women - cos I love it!

I think most women prefer to connect to books on an emotional level, which is why romance and light character-based fiction are often more popular with them. Men tend to interact with books on a deeper, more intellectual level, which is why they prefer the likes of science-fiction, history or literary fiction, as opposed to just some alchemical flub of character interactions.

Obviously, you're the proof that this isn't always the case, so you should be proud! I think the world would be a much smarter place if more women read science-fiction and put aside the nonsensical, banal, cliched romance novels they seem to read in droves.

PSaunders what a arrogant male chauvinist you are.
Literature of all forms is written at many intellectual levels and the fact that you do not know this proves your own scholastic limitations.

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I don't think response to films is a good indicator for books. I read many books I wouldn't dream of watching - visual violence is much more upsetting if realistic, irritating if implausible.

Some people just don't like fantastical settings, but I doubt that's really based on gender: my sister doesn't and neither does my husband. Some people are very reluctant to read outside their usual comfort zone whatever that may be. For example, some Scifi/fantasy readers are very unlikely to read thrillers and other genres... Whereas I would read your scifi and you can read my historical novels!

Oh really. Just so you know, reading science fiction does not make you in anyway smater then someone who reads fiction. As a girl who read sci-fi, fantasy and historical fiction as well as ordinary fiction, I find it hard to believe anyone could imagine that women mainly read romance novels, or indeed look at books on an emotional level and not an intellectual one. Many of the men I know don't read at all, and those who do do indeed read science fiction, mainly as they believe that reading a book that requires some understanding on an emotional level, as they somehow believe this would undermine their manhood.
I would like to remind you that recent studies appear to be finding that only 26% of men read regularly, compared to 48% of women.
I often get the feeling that a large percentage of the US government, which despite being more equal then it was is mainly men, would fall into the other 74% catagory (particularly in the financial sector).

Perhaps you would consider the world 'a much smarter place' if as many men read at all as women do?

I must say that on the whole I have known more women than men who read sci-fi. The only exception being when I was at school. Also if I glance in the sci-fi aisle when I am in Waterstones 9 times out of 10 there is a woman browsing, not a man.

I'll confirm M. Dowden's reports, in my experience it is at the very, very, least 50/50, with most likely a female going on to buy a book.

In comparison to one of my local comic book shops, that has never been graced by the presence of a women. (Apart from when my girlfriend bought me a birthday present from there).

EDIT: Go ahead and pick on P. Saunders if you must, but frankly the statement is so flawed it doesn't require a comment to point it out. It's like shooting fish in a barrel.

I'd have to agree with the two previous posters, in my opinion - SF is pretty much 50:50. I love a well-written and well-structured SF book, and I know quite a few other womenwho also read SF. (P. Saunders - get a life - preferably one based in 2010 and not 1900 where you seem to be coming from!)

A genre that to me is truly male-dominated / oriented would be High Fantasy. I like fantasy but that particular branch of it seems to particularly appeal to males. It's not even the scantily-clad females that appear to be the draw either, whenever I've tried them, the books seem to be so intent on giving every detail of the mythical world they live in that I get bored with the nitty-gritty of it all! I guess it's the escapist thing, everybody wants to feel that they, the humble apprentice, could be the saviour of the world. The typical 7-stone weakling dream, perhaps?

Hi everybody,
am I the only one here to back Mr. Sauders in a way (repeat: in a way)? (NB: I'm female.) Of course women tend to like character interactions in books, and soap operas are mostly watched by women. But what's wrong with that? (I mean the majority, OF COURSE there are plenty exceptions.) As somebody who has connections in publishing houses (and we do get feedback from the readers) I can honestly confirm that there are plenty of intelligent hard working women who do read stupid romance novels to cool their heads after work while their husbands are out fishing or drinking beer, or whatever. Men almost never read THESE books.

Again, as somebody who has something to do with SF on daily basis, I can confirm, that SF is mostly a guy thing, the percentage is definitely not 50/50, more likely 80/20. But believe me, there are plenty of stupid SF books with blasters blazing and not much more. Some stupid romance for women, some stupid war for men. Normal.

Of course there are tons and tons of very good SF, and yet men are more into it. I can't say anything about American conventions (never been there), but in European conventions you get 5 or even 10 guys for every girl, and even some of those are just somebody's girlfriends, sorry, ladies, I'd repeat this under oath. There are many good female SF writers, translators, even publishers, but among fans males prevail.

On the other hand, there are tons and tons and tons of good literature including poetry, that men almost never read. I sincerely do not understand why some of you feel offended by the statement, that SF is more for men. Yes, it is. Like Formula 1 or whatever else. So what?

Raeven: me, too, I love SF. Some of my female friends love it too. But what's wrong in exchanging books (or opinions) about science fiction with your male friends?

[Deleted by Amazon on 7 Oct 2011 19:34:06 BDT]

Have found the responses very interesting although, being what some might term a 'science fiction geek', I do find at perhaps the more fanatical (for want of a better word!) end of interest in sci-fi that men outnumber women - I do attend conventions, which seem to appeal to guys more - so agree with Anita on this one.

I also agree with A O'Connor that high fantasy seems to appeal to guys more - this is another genre of which I'm fond . . . maybe I should start to be concerned and get some girly interests!! No, I don't think I'll be resorting to Mills & Boone any time soon

A thought on sci-fi conventions. I have never been to one but I have seen loads of pics taken from the ones in America. There always seem to be sexy women in costumes from Lara Croft through sci-fi and into fantasy and manga. Could it be these women that draw lots more men than women to these?

As for P. Saunders, when I was in my teens and on a teabreak there was a girl going on about female rights. I jokingly said that a woman's place was at home, cooking the dinner and looking after the children. The girl, and her best friend never talked to me again, although all the other women in the room seemed to know I was joking around and thought it was funny. Perhaps P. Saunders is just pulling your string.

I think it's not only about who the books are aimed at, but how boys and girls are brought up. Generally, boys are encouraged to be interested in spaceships and technology, while girls are steered towards interest in romance and interpersonal relationships. It's worth mentioning, as well, that in a previous job I had a female colleague who used to criticise my taste for sci-fi, comparing it unfavourably to the biographies that she liked to read.

I do read a lot of science fiction, but don't in any way think that, as a whole, it is "better" than romance. There is some appallingly bad sci-fi and fantasy out there, and there is good romantic fiction (though I have to admit that my experience is limited mainly to the Brontës). There are also many women writing good sci-fi and fantasy: Marion Bradley, Ursula Le Guin, Margaret Atwood, Trudy Canavan, Julian May... One message that needs to be spread is that sci-fi does not have to be just about big ships and big guns - it can be about exploring new possibilities for society and human relationships (something that male authors like Frederik Pohl do as well).

There are definitely a lot of good female sci fi authors around, at a variety of levels. Lois McMaster Bujold is my example ( and there are a lot more ), and a some of them seem to write equal parts fantasy as well, but I have to wonder just how accurate your statistics are ANITA as I've seen an awful lot of women reading sci fi. When you think about it relational stories can be set in any of the genres and sci fi is no different. And you're right ROB male authors can - and do - write stories like these.....and they do it well - Niven and Pournelle for example.

Raeven:
please, do not take that too seriously, that's for fun, but seriously I just Googled the Mills & Boone you mentioned in order to find out what's that...
Maybe that's excusable, as I'm not English, but you won't have to explain me what, say, Baen Books is.

Rob:
totally agree with you. Just would like to add another name. A male author writing good science fiction AND exploring human relationships: Robert Charles Wilson. His Spin is really worth a try.

I agree with you. I love sci fi and i struggle to find female friends to go to cinema with.
but personally i love it. i always find there is someone in IT department at work who likes sci fi.

Science Fiction is what it is and you either love it or hate it.
I know many men that will never admit to watching the "soppy chick flicks" but do actually like them as I also know many women who like Science Fiction. I think society divides on what is normally acceptable and most people assume that it must be for men but that is not my experience.
I really like sci-fi off all genres my favourite being Star Wars. Most of my women friends don't understand me and most of the men I know have only seen the films and do not realise that there is a whole expanded universe encompassing games, comics and of course novels. I don't mind really I like the debates.

I love sci-fi and horror and as a woman I find I can only discuss these genres with my male friends as my female friends are really not interestd. Just recently I took my 12 yr old son to my local Forbidden Planet store and I was in total geek Heaven-I loved it but I noticed that even though it was 2 oclock on a Sat afternoon and the store was packed out, I was the only female(Including staff) in the entire shop and I was getting some strange looks.A fellow (male) sci-fi fan later told me it was prob because I was the first woman they had ever seen who wasnt computer generated! Despite this, I think Anita is right in saying a lot more women read SCI_FI than we would prob think(this forum proves that) but I think it is still def a genre that is markrted for a male audience.

If that is the London Forbidden Planet I know the feeling, though as a guy. On a Saturday it's a nerd Mecca, and I avoid it so I don't have to be squashed by comic nerds (okay I'm one of them, but I have some dignity! :) ) Thursdays can be just as bad.

I, as a female SF and F reader, think that maybe women are more interested in the characters and men prefer action driven books. What do other readers think of this theory?

I don't read much sci-fi these days, I kind of grew out of it by my late teens. I like authors though like Philip K Dick, who I still read as his books make you think. Gadgets and gizmos are ok but I like something that gets your brain whirring and pushes you. I know I am a male, but characterisation is important, that is one of the reasons why I stoped reading sci-fi, it was mainly just battles at the time and then I came across Dostoevsky also and moved onto reading 19th century literature instead.

This thread has just caused a long debate (read shouting match) in my house.

I am a girl who likes to read, in fact I would say I am addicted to the written word. My dear friend who is currently reading over my shoulder is male and also enjoys reading, albeit a lot slower than I do.

We have come to this consensus...women read more than men hence they will read more "light" fiction simply by mass. This is not to say that women do not read sci-fi or high fantasy or even that fewer women than men read these genres, simply that proportionally fewer women read these genres than those that are considered light. [The grammar police over my shoulder protest the long convoluted sentence] There is a large group of people, however, who do not read sci-fi at all. Of this group we believe there are more women than men, both proportionately and numerically, because they believe the genre has no bearing on their life and prefer stories that are closer to reality.

I would argue that women enjoy good sci-fi, which is underrepresented in the genre. There is too much sci-fi that is either badly written or badly imagined. Oddly one of my favourite series is the Serrano books by Elizabeth Moon, female protagonist, very technical with good human interactions. The same goes for the original Dune novels, albeit with strong female characters rather than a female protagonist. [The grammar police agrees with Dune, adds Larry Niven's Ringworld series but disqualifies The Many Coloured Land as "not sci-fi enough".]

There has been a brief coda here for another long discussion about good versus definitive science fiction. William Gibson has made an appearance, as non-definitive science fiction, but I cannot comment as I haven't read it. [The grammar police points out that William Gibson is definitive Cyber-punk which is a sub-genre of sci-fi but cannot be called definitive science fiction.]

I believe that women do read good science fiction and fantasy and it is only the lack of it that means that means that few women read the genres. [The grammar police agrees and adds that there are few male sci-fi/fantasy fans] This means that as long as the book is well-imagined then it will be enjoyed by both sexes. [The grammar police agress with Mrs L M Jones that women prefer heavy characterisation and men prefer stronger action led and technical storylines]

The consensus ends thus, both sexes enjoy the books but it depends on the individual what draws them to the genre. We both consider ourselves quite geeky when it comes to sci-fi/fantasy, down to long rants about canon (me) and technical details (him) so I guess we do fall into the stereotype of female preferring characters and male preferring technical details. That said I can't read a book where the technical stuff is consistantly wrong and he can't read books where the characters are wooden. But then we both agree that the stories must be action driven, no navel gazing and heart-rending romances to drive the story forward, thank you.

There is about to be an argument about bolted-on romances and applying contempory moral mores in a future society in a way that seems out of place. But I think that's a different thread so I shall leave this here.

I think it also may come down to the time one has to read. If you do not have a lot of time to read then most people i know will pick a novel that does envolve a lot of thinking. If you have time, end peace, to read then you can choose a more complicated plot line.