I have a question
Do you subconsciously give more weight to authors that represent the genre you are reading? By this I mean, male authors writing m/m fiction, female authors writing from a woman's perspective, black authors writing about race issues etc?
Consciously though, I'd have to say its innate in everyone from a psychological standpoint, to give more cred to the writer if the gender of the author is the same as that of the characters. It means that the writer can honestly 'know' his/her characters and get inside their minds in order to write them well. That's coming from someone who studies mental health and pathologies for a living.
On the flipside, I agree with trinipedia they said "I give more weight to any writer who writes something he/she is not familiar with and does it so well I believe it."
I agree with that statement. When they're that good, then sometimes I don't know the difference and can believe they're an expert on what they've just written. Which is why they were able to convince me in the story in the first place. Its awesome when that happens.
Often too, I also find myself knowing the difference in writing styles, of when its a male author vs. female. There's just a telling difference in ways of self-expression that gives away a male or female point of view. Not always, but often. <333
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