Usage of the word "guys" as a generic, non-gendered colloquialism for a group of humans

I would like to thank all of your for participating in this thread – seriously so and non-seriously so.

The general consensus is that guys is somewhat gender-neutral in current use, although not too far removed from male associations.

Not what I was expecting.

I hope everybody had fun! (this is not an end to the party, just speaking up before I forget.)

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It’s context specific of course. I mean, if I’m at a party or a rave or something and am addressed as part of a group of people as “friends” that’s fine. But it rubs me the wrong way at work because none of us are actually friends there. We’re colleagues at best, and users at worst. If I want to be extra passive-aggresively condescending on a support call, I’ll see how often I can call the person “user”. It’s pretty mean spirited, and I only reserve that for the worst users in the Org.

But yeah, a stranger addressing me as “my friend” sets off all the alarm bells and red lights in my brain, and makes me immediately want to either tell them “I’m not your friend, we don’t know each other” or just to wrap up the conversation and get away.

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This has been my observation (and frequent usage since living in California) too. I do see the point about it reinforcing the idea of male-as-default tho…

I wonder if it’s better to continue using it to further its de-gendering, or stop using it to avoid its current gendering?

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I can understand that, and my husband feels the same about his co-workers. I tend to be pretty chummy with my colleagues, though. My-friends… my-colleagues… (from Fry and Laurie… if I could find a video of that).

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I’m sure it would be nice to be freinds with my co-workers. As it is I don’t see them much. Maybe a few hours a week, thanks to the night shift.

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Well, in my line of work, you tend to get with a group and talk through your topics, which are close to your hearts. I’ll tell you, letting someone read an unpolished draft of a paper can make you feel really vulnerable, and it helps to have people you like and trust. That being said, you can have the problem of having a really intense rivalry with others, too.

I dunno… academia is kind of weird.

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That very fact…its naturalness and ease, is why I think it’s great. It’s something you fall into, not something you have to wedge into your vocabulary.

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I don’t think I’ve ever heard any of my Dublin friends say “yizzer”. Never seen yiz written out, but that one is extremely common.

Also, “lads” is very often used as a gender-neutral term, at least among the group of folks I know (mostly Rathfarnhamites, or thereabouts).

I think this is a case where we can choose our battles, and not worry about this particular case of gendered language, because in US English there isn’t a universally good alternative. I mean, y’all is fine (“Y’all is FIIINE!”) but most people outside the south are just never going to use it seriously. At this point, I feel like “you guys” has legitimately been stripped of the gendered language issue (which does remain a problem worth considering for most other gendered language) despite still being gendered.

I still feel weird using it. But then like Donald:

I am exactly the same. I also am uncomfortable using peoples’ names (like saying “Hey Donald, could you look at this”) so I may be weirder than he.

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I’m not uncomfortable using people’s names, but I have a real tendency not to. Enough so that I’m in danger of actually forgetting friend’s names.

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Someone mentioned Bottle Rocket the other day, and you’re posting Repo Man? But it’s such a nice day to be outside, not watching old mooooovvvviiiiiiieeeeesssss.

Yeah - same - even my extended family, haha.

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What I did was put my hand on the wall, and drag it along the surface as I walked around the house, and through the door to the yard, and back again. It became apparent to me that it is the same continuous surface all of the way through! The house is not a container with a discrete “inside” and “outside”, but rather a sort of topological manifold. Any distinction of inside/outside appears to be purely arbitrary!

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A chance mention of Strange Maps prompted me to rebinge this fascinating blog. And lo and behold, a map of Dudes, pals, buddies and bros

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Well, yes, but they’re Australian; it’s not like they’re human.

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I think of “all y’all” as an emphatic version of y’all. If y’all is a general plural “you”, “all y’all” is “every last one of you.”

“Y’all get over here” might be an invitation. “All y’all get over here” is an order.

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That’s fine, so long as they don’t change the quantity of people they are ordering around, because that process is patented…

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Philadelphia ruins this with “youse guys”, while Pittsburgh “fixes” it with “yinz”.

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