Should come as no surprise that I'm quite the opposite--very rarely do I write anything in which a female character is, if not present, at least mentioned as a crucial element of the story. (The closest I've gotten was Sands/El kinda pre-slash, but Carolina's death was discussed as a primary character motivation.) The same preferences affect my reading--it took me forever to get through Master and Commander, and Moby Dick has so far defeated me, even though all the sailing and historical detail fascinates me, and I think it's because of that lack of female presence. I do love Lord of the Rings, but I was pretty fixated on Galadriel and Eowyn when I first read them as a teenager. I suppose it's a bit sexist/selfish, but I'm far more invested in the development of the female characters. Not that the men can just fuck off, but I'm still more interested in how they relate to and affect the female characters than in how they relate to one another.

But I do see how the male characters hold the fascination of difference. One knows what it's like to be a woman, but there's a aspect of the unknown/mysterious in exploring a male experience, perhaps?