The word 'guys'

[KathyLauren]

My wife is strongly and outspokenly in the males only camp and will scold anyone who uses it otherwise in her presence.  I hear it all the time to mean a mixed group, and I use it that way myself at times.

What do you think?

[Ms Grace]

I think it really depends on the situation and the location. If you're at a trendy cafe then you're likely to be called "guys" even if you are in a group of women. Women quite often use "guys" talking to groups of other women. If things are a bit more formal it is less likely to happen. Just as mankind and male pronouns were used to refer to mass humanity (despite being more than 50% female) I think "guys" has become an informal group pronoun regardless of the genders involved.

[KathyLauren]

Women quite often use "guys" talking to groups of other women.

I heard a radio program one time where they were talking about this.  One woman being interviewed said pretty much exactly that...
"Women quite often use "guys" talking to groups of other women.  I've even heard guys use it that way. ... Oops!"   

[Eevee]

I'll admit that hearing "guys" in reference to a group that I am a part of digs into me a bit. I know what they mean, since it is used for mixed groups all the time. It still bothers me, though. Nobody is going to change that, so I'll just have to get used to it.

[Mariah]

As much as I dislike admitting it, Any of the options in your list is possible. Personally I would rather only used on a group of guys only, but sadly it can be used in many situations. Hugs
Mariah

[XKimX]

Only since hanging out with a bunch of Californians have I begin to accept "guy" as applying to both genders.  Before that, a guy was a guy, meaning male.  Remember, "Guys and Dolls."  Guys was not multi-gender then.

So I have come to find that Californians speak a different language, like people from Oz but with a different accent.

I read in the paper that a female student at one of the Los Angeles universities considered it offensive and sexual harassment to be called a "guy" by her professor, and sued.  She was laughed out of court, but in Boston she may well have won.

[Peep]

For me it depends on the situation, 'you guys' is neutral for me when I'd be referring to a group of people that I know, even if they're all female, but abstractly, 'Guys' also means men? I'd generally use it neutrally unless someone specifically said they were uncomfortable with it.

[LivingTheDream]

I basically only use guys for any group or gender neutral type words (or no gender pronoun at all) for individuals. Idk if it is the best way to handle things but it's what I do, it works for me.

Had a couple of different occasions at work where I ma'am'ed a guy from behind because of long hair or something. That obviously didn't go over too well with them; I thought one was gonna kick my you know what the way he was staring at me afterwards...Turns out, guys don't like being ma'amed, lol...sp ya, learned to avoid doing so cuz of that.

[TG CLare]

I find that if it's a mixed group, "guys" seems to cover everyone although I am not technically a "guy" any longer. Today it was lady and gentlemen for one of my classes. I don't get bent out of shape over it though.

Love,
Clare

[Evil Lyn]

I grew up in Cal in the 80's.  Everyone was a dude, a collection of people was always guys.  I mean...MANkind.  huMANity.  And even woMAN.  Masculine prefixes/suffixes/nouns are everywhere.  It's hard to avoid them.

I refuse to hang out with people who get butthurt over that.  In fact, it offends me when I am corrected for using guys, dude, so forth so I stay away unless I have to.  What's that mean?  Live and let live.  The anti-dudes hang over there, and the pro dudes hang over here, and we stay out of each other's way.

[sparrow]

Language can change, if we insist upon it.

I try not to use "guy" to refer to anybody but male-identified people and transmasculine folk who I've explicitly checked in with.  Pluralizing it, in my opinion, devalues the feminine people in the room.

A pair of followup questions:
* Can we use "gals" to refer to a group exclusively comprised of men?
* Would you refer to a woman as a guy in her presence?  "she's a guy"

[Peep]

A pair of followup questions:
* Can we use "gals" to refer to a group exclusively comprised of men?
* Would you refer to a woman as a guy in her presence?  "she's a guy"

I would refer to a group of men as gals or ladies but not in the same seriousness as i'd use guys on a mixed group P:

Similarly my (cis female afaik) friends used to refer to each other as 'guys' because they sometimes did things traditionally held to be masculine, 'she's basically a guy' 'you're such a dude' 'we're doing guy things today' etc. Not sure that's necessarily better, but it was never intended as an insult, at least.

[Tristan]

I call everyone a guy unless they ask me not to but most my friends don't care trans or cis.

[Kylo]

I've heard it used all ways - women to women, men to men, mixed groups.

I'm fine with using it to refer to a group of people without especial ref to gender, but I do understand the trepidation some MTFs have with it, in the same way I'd probably feel if I was in a room with some females and someone came in and said "hey ladies." Then again, I'd not really care that much. I'm not nervous about being misgendered nearly as much as I thought I would be.

[arice]

For me it depends on the situation, 'you guys' is neutral for me when I'd be referring to a group of people that I know, even if they're all female, but abstractly, 'Guys' also means men? I'd generally use it neutrally unless someone specifically said they were uncomfortable with it.

This to a defree. Although I would be very unlikely to use it to describe a group of "feminine" women. For me it is as much about behaviour as gender. I admittedly also use it to describe my gender identity. I am a "guy who happens to be female"... in this case I am using it to describe a set of characters/behaviours that are stereotypical in men as well as a masculine identity.


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[xchrisx]

So I spent my first 20something years in New York state; we call everyone 'guys'. Only later (and with loads of travel)  did it occur to me that this could rub people the wrong way.

I'm currently living in the US south (Asheville), where, "y'all" is the catch-all. It took time lol but I do use it from time to time, as I think it does a good job at addressing a group without gendering them.

My go-to word, however, is 'folks'.

[SophiaBleu]

We always use "guys" for everybody.  Same with "dudes" and sometimes man between us girls.  But we also use chicklet, and stuff like that, lol.

[Anne Blake]

I confess to being raised speaking Californian and guys has always been the default for any group, regardless of the gender mix. I am fine with it but I still get a bit edgy and try to figure out if it was an intentional misgendered pronoun. I have never detected it to be that but I am still a bit sensitive (but getting better). Anne