When you think about your favorite authors, who are they–male or female?

I did a little experiment on Crime Space.  I picked 20 random guys and 20 random gals and read their “favorite author” lists. I guess the results shouldn’t be surprising, but still…very interesting for those of us trying to appeal to both genders in our writing.  Here’s the numbers:

Gal readers preference average:  11 female authors/ 2 male authors

Guy readers preference average:  1 female author/  13 male authors

Is this simply because male writers dominate the thriller field, where blood, guns and sex rule? Or is it more than that? Will they simply not pick up a book if they know it’s written by a woman because of expectations?

Guys, please weigh in.  Tell me under what circumstances do you give female writers a chance?