I think I agree with everything you're saying, here.
My only side comment is that I like anthologies of women's work, and particularly feminist work, because that way I'm more likely (albeit not by any means guaranteed, heaven knows) to get a concentration of stuff I like in one place. Despite the percentages in publishing, about 90% of the sffh I read is written by women. When I'm looking for new authors, I am much more likely to randomly pull something off the shelf if it has a woman's name on the spine. I do read and like fiction by men, quite often - but I read and like a lot more fiction by women.
This really applies more to major collections than to having a Very Special Issue, though. I don't keep up with any magazines at the moment (though I probably want to change that). Certainly, I think all the implications you bring out are present and significant.
(And I keep on pointing out to people that women are not a minority population. Weirdly, I happen to think that's important.)
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My only side comment is that I like anthologies of women's work, and particularly feminist work, because that way I'm more likely (albeit not by any means guaranteed, heaven knows) to get a concentration of stuff I like in one place. Despite the percentages in publishing, about 90% of the sffh I read is written by women. When I'm looking for new authors, I am much more likely to randomly pull something off the shelf if it has a woman's name on the spine. I do read and like fiction by men, quite often - but I read and like a lot more fiction by women.
This really applies more to major collections than to having a Very Special Issue, though. I don't keep up with any magazines at the moment (though I probably want to change that). Certainly, I think all the implications you bring out are present and significant.
(And I keep on pointing out to people that women are not a minority population. Weirdly, I happen to think that's important.)