Hi guys! You don’t mind if I call you guys, right?

[noblegiraffe]

Just out of interest, if you are female:

YABU: yes, I do mind being referred to in a group as guys, even if it’s just a minor niggle that I will never bring up.

YANBU: I don’t give a toss if you refer to me in a group as a guys. It’s a gender-neutral word these days.

Threads like this make me realise you can't win whatever you call people. Call females guys and that's not right as its more of a male term but call them ladies or girls and makes them annoyed too.

I honestly don't care.

I see it as gender neutral really, same with lads, I use that all the time with my female friends and vice versa

It doesn't bother me however in a professional capacity people should be steered away from using it to address a group

It’s not the gendered implications, it just sounds irritating, like an over-jovial team building workshop leader or someone trying to sound ‘cool’ even they are so far past it that they don’t know that cool isn’t a thing anymore amongst young people.

Also I am capable of having an opinion or a reaction to something without being ‘offended’, and find the dismissal of any different opinion as ‘professionally offended’ equally irritating.

People are free to use ‘guys’ whether or not I find it irritating.

Annoys the hell out of me and it does mean something. An individual woman would never be called a guy so calling a mixed group or all female group ‘guys’ is the equivalent of using ‘hey ladies’ to address a group of men or mixed gender group - it wouldn’t happen. That said, I would rarely say anything because the people using ‘guys’ probably have good intentions and are trying to be friendly. ‘People’, ‘folks’ or ‘ladies and gentlemen’ are all better and more accurate. I’ve frequently been addressed as ‘chaps’ or ‘gents’ within a mixed group and consider that too much and have had to say ‘there are women here too you know’ to which I’ve received the reply ‘oh sorry if chaps/gents’ wasn’t gender neutral’ erm???