It's not the type of thing that naturally comes up in conversation.
"Is Brees going to pull a Chris Johnson?"
"Who cares? More importantly, guys, by the way, I watch anime."
But, I certainly don't hide it if people are over at my place hanging out, and have turned plenty of my male friends on to anime over the years. Some popular gateway shows that have tended to get friends of mine interested enough to seek out anime on their own are:
Black Lagoon
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Outlaw Star
Eureka Seven
It's especially a good idea not to start off with anime that kind of requires having some otaku knowledge to 'get'.
Interestingly, I don't believe I've ever turned a female friend over to anime. At least, not seriously. I don't really count those who've gone on to watch only Gibhli shows as having turned on to anime, for instance. Most of my moderately serious girlfriends over the years have at least tried to get into it, to humor me if nothing else, but while some have enjoyed a show here and there, I don't believe any ever got to the point where they'd go and watch any on their own. Which is fine. They suffer with a smile through marathoning Macross with me. I suffer with a smile Gilmore Girls marathons.
I have, however, and continue to have, female friends who were already into anime before I met them.
I'm not sure if there's something to be read into that.