I'll answer the last question first - yes, my gender did affect my attempt at discussing the possibility of ASD with my last psychiatrist. While my psychologist thinks ASD is highly likely in my case [and she makes frequent references to it during our sessions], here she can't officially diagnose me; only a psychiatrist can. Anyways, my old psychiatrist rejected the possibility completely out of hand mainly because I'm female and, in his opinion, it's "unlikely" for females to have ASD.

When I tried to discuss some of my traits [that have persisted since childhood] with him so he could have a better picture of what is happening with me, he just thought I was/am an obsessive person.

However, I'm more likely to trust my psychologist more than my old psychiatrist, simply because my psychologist did take the time to listen to what I had to say.

As for gender differences between males and females...personally I haven't noticed much differences. What I have noticed is that ASD is truly a "spectrum" disorder and individuals are impacted differently by their symptoms.