This morning's hilarious gender-reading

[jimmymot]

ha. i use dude that way too, as an exclaimation. i also use it with women, but im in california, so its rather typical.

who else uses dude in a certain way when you are trying to express sincerity.

such as: "no, DUDE, seriously, that is NOT cool" lol

[elvistears]

Ha, that's how I use dude too!  I'm always exclaiming it and drawing it out into two syllables - DOOOOEEEEEEED

[Farm Boy]

I do the same thing.

Is dude really not gender neutral in most of the states?  I guess I'm behind the times as well because I use "dude" and "man" interchangeably as exclamations.  As in the examples Devin and Jimmy gave, and as in "Man, what is your problem?" and "Not cool, man, not cool." 

[Radar]

The US South is a bit interesting. Dude and man can be used for everybody. Many times men are called dear, sweetie, sweetheart, etc. but always by a woman- especially if the woman's older than you. If a guy calls you those names though either he sees you as a female or is trying to piss you off. Men never call each other those things.