Is calling 'people' 'folk' part of gender ideology rewriting language norms or is it separate?

Aye. That.

Also used in a ‘gather round folks’ way too.

I don’t care much for folx. Pretentious bolx is that.

I think when used by people who believe in gender identity the spelling tends to be folxs and it is a trend that seems to have come from the US. I am not sure why the K was replaced with an X though, but as Mx is gender neutral I am guessing this is along the same lines, though I would have considered folk gender neutral also.

I wondered about the use of this word. I have a colleague who is Northern who uses folk and folks a lot but in a conscious emphasised way. It doesn't feel quite natural. She doesn't say tara or love, so this one word sticks out.

I should imagine it’s more related to not wanting to use the word “guys” as many women do not like that. I think people on MN are really starting to dig harder to make everything about trans people 🙄

This.
I'm (very) slightly younger, but 'folk' is a just another term used to refer to 'people' where I come from.

I said no because noone has ever in real life asked me to. Even the two team people I work with.

Ah, I see. I find it highly offensive when people demand that I refer to my son as "she". But I, as an old man, don't count for anything in this brave world. He can call himself whatever he likes, but I don't accept that he can pressurise me to lie. I know that physical reality is that he is a man, and my worldview isn't based on gender stereotypes, so any "femininity" he displays is OK as a man.

Folk meaning people in English usage stretches back to before the Norman Conquest. How do you think that Norfolk and Suffolk got their names?

I am suspicious when I see the term "folk" now, especially when the word "people" should be used in more formal settings.

This "folkx" or "folx" I think is the main part of it, getting people to say "folks" and then changing it to be "folx" when written down, basically changing people's language and communication without consent.

No.

Before visiting this thread I had never heard of folx.

Folk/s is used a lot in YA Fantasy/Romantasy* literature, probably because it sounds more faux Olde Worlde than people. I've I never really stopped to think about whether it was influenced by current usage or has actually done the influencing. Considering the emphasis on 'queerness' (a big plus in the Romantasy world) and the incredible popularity of the genre I wouldn't be surprised if it was a bit of both.

I'm not a Romantasy fan but some of my book club are, so I've read a few.

As is "guys" when used for both men and women. I really dislike it.

I'd say:
folk like bloke
folx like blokes.

But as I cannot think of an occasion where I'd use folx, I don't think it matters how I'd say it.

My autocorrect isn't keen on folx either.

It’s fine as an adjective though, right?

This is just another American thing. I use it alot

I have lived in various different places in the U.K. and folk is common in some areas.
I have only seen folx written down so now after pronunciation research on Youtube I can conclude folx is not foll-ux like bollocks, as I previously thought. The x seems to change the sound of the o so, in my accent, you get:

folk like bloke
folx like sulks

This seems an apt way of remembering.

I noticed the use of "folks" and "folk" a lot in TRA contexts a while ago and pondered this.

I live in the North of England but don't really hear it in everyday use - I associate it more with my southern grandmother if spoken.
However online it does seem to be a word that's been imported back from the US and used in certain activist contexts.

I don't think there's anything sinister in it's meaning specifically, but it's widespread use in this context does irritate me - it sounds like such a twee, friendly word, then usually followed by some absolute dangerous twaddle. It's part of the wolf-in-sheep's-clothing (or should that be ewe's clothing?) faux-reasonable presentation of TRAs.

I've definitely noticed the connection and also the use of 'kiddo' instead of child.

Are sick of people policing the third person pronouns folks use about them?

I find cringe as an adverb really cringy.

Of course 'Folk' was and is used in the north and west of insular Europe and got to America from Ulster with the 'Scots-Irish' who were such a significant influence, particularly in the ever-shifting physical frontier lands.

Folk music, the disciplines of folk life and folk lore studies have been around for over a century, as has the shadow 'discipline' that gets called 'fake lore'). But this current usage is slightly different - as I said upthread, it seems to shadow the idea of the 'chosen family' - whose most important feature is that it is not a family.

Also, I'm from Scotland where folk is used all the time.

I've literally just been standing in a queue of about 10 folk outside Boots waiting for it to open.

Folk is a plural term though - I've never heard Scottish people talk about folks.

US presidents often talk about folks. I think they think it will make them seem more relatable.

People often seem to use the word online when explaining about how to validate LGBTQ+ community - i've always interpreted it as a bit exclusionary and patronising. Sort of 'we are all folks together and you're just an idiot bigot Karen who needs things spelled out for them'.

I've got nothing against the LGBTQ+ community but don't think this prickly chippiness does them any favours.

Surely 'folks/folx' in a gender context is driven explicitly by American usage - as is 'y'all', which now crops up all over the place in UK-based contexts and is most certainly not an English expression.