Are genre readers more likely to separate the author from the work?

Discussion around separating 'art' from 'artist' is something that springs quite a bit - especially in the SF/F community. I have a lot of theories on why that's so:

we've got an academic fan tradition, and like to overanalyse context; we're a tight-knit community and live in one another's pockets; social media makes it so dirty laundry is everyone;  our particular blend of escapism often stems from creative people outside of traditional social norms; we sure have an awful lot of assholes w...