Well I take my own photos, but my criteria for choosing any professional service provider certainly has nothing to do with their gender. I would choose a photographer based on whether or not I liked their work and got along with them well enough to feel comfortable (and therefore get some good pictures) - whether they were male or female has nothing to do with anything.
I also think ?200 is steep - the gent in Leeds who takes many ladies pictures around here (especially when they're getting started) charges less than half that for a two hour shoot. If you're really interested in getting into photography why not try advertising time for prints to build yourself a body of work up and get some practice? There are lots of people doing this and it's one way to get yourself seen.