men might keep a low profile because they are universally painted as fat, thirty year old virgins living with their parents.

Nah -- they were painted that way long before there were a lot of women in fandom. Not to mention in fandoms that are still male-dominated -- think of the comics shop guy on the Simpsons.

Teh Seth may turn that stereotype around.

Teh Seth may turn that stereotype around.

Comics are cool again, but fandoms? I think you're talking a different beast, there. Still, demographics for these things are definitely changing, and I think "Buffy" crystallized a lot of that, so who knows?

And as for men writing fan fic, how come when ever this conversation comes up, the focus is immediately on sexual pairings. A few of us are male, married professionals who like to write episodic stories that don't focus on sex. (Although I admit I'm the guy whose stories have Oz/Justine and a Dawn/Xander in the year 2023.)

how come when ever this conversation comes up, the focus is immediately on sexual pairings.

Because the amount of slash and het in fanfic outweighs the amount of gen, regardless of the gender, sexual orientation, or marital status of the author.

Because the amount of slash and het in fanfic outweighs the amount of gen, regardless of the gender, sexual orientation, or marital status of the author.

Yeah, I can see that. I just like to tell stories, y'know? It's weird because, on the face of it, the stories I write are what I'd consider fairly mainstream--I try to keep to the basic constraints of what could appear on the TV--and yet sometimes it seems that what I do is an oddity among fan fic writers.

Ah, the lament of the gen writer. I think it comes back down to that other eternal question of "but *why fanfic?", and for a lot of people, the answer is "So I can get what I don't see on my screen."

"So I can get what I don't see on my screen."

And by that, I mean "porn." (:

I always got the impression that fanfic was much more of a woman fan phenomenon.

I think it really depends on the fandom and/or genre. In my experience as a fic archivist and con-goer, there's a fairly high percentage of men in fandoms like Buffy and Farscape. And comics, of course.

My default gender assumption for fandom used to be "female", but it isn't now, especially since I've moved back into comics. I think the fan fiction sphere is female-dominated, but anymore that's all I can generalize, because demographics shift like whoa from fandom to fandom.

I've been going to Dragon*Con for the last few years, and it seems like there's a fairly even boy/girl split. Problem is, I've been trespassing in traditionally male space since I was wee, so it's difficult to have perspective.

With my parties, you'll notice a hugely disproportionate number of really hot women in pretty dresses. I'll never figure out why more men don't attend these things.

Chances are good, yo.

Happily, not just for those seeking hot women in pretty dresses.

I finally replaced my DVD player and am looking at my Wonderfalls DVDs RIGHT NOW! Wheeeeee!