Does an author's sex affect the way they portray the members of their own sex or the opposite sex? Well...that depends if they are good at writing from another perspective. Some authors write very well from the opposite gender's perspective. Edith Wharton's portrayal of Ethan Frome was, in my opinion, flawless. Others are not so rounded, such as The Natural, which does a very bad job of representing the complexities of woman.
However, the flaws in The Natural could just as easily be by design, to make a point or express a theme. In The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver uses a harsh take on men in order to epitomize the strength and struggle of single mothers. She also uses it to show the unfairness of life in general. Just because the portrayals seem far from fact, doesn't mean that they are bad. It all depends on the skill of the author.
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