"You guys"

[BadMotorhomeParent]

I hope it isn't only me, and of course, our team of women were fantastic (note: I am not really a football follower - but did watch lot of the match yesterday), BUT, I really hated it this morning when (R4) a message of support and congratulations was broadcast (by the writer of Bend it Like Beckham I believe) and I lost count of how many times she said "You guys"......

If there was ever less of an example of a bunch of guys, it would be when referring to a team comprised 100% of women!

And I find it amazing that people join a thread to say so.

That too, seems ridiculous to me.

I very very rarely (almost never) say this - but; whatever.

I use guys, but I understand why people don't like it. It's another example of a word becoming gender neutral because it's a male term that women are allowed to use. It NEVER happens the other way round!

I always use the term guys.
I try and stop because my students must think I’m trying to be cool but it’s purely habit.

I couldn’t get worked up over someone using the phrase though.

When I joined my current school it was all-boys. I used to address classes as "gents." "Ladies and gents" sounds a bit twee, and I briefly tried "guys" but have settled on "folks." Or just, "Right, Year 9s...."

I think you are absolutely right, even though I am guilty of this myself! We do need an actual gender-neutral word meaning "you all", and "guys" isn't it, in the same way that "man" as a noun for "people" isn't acceptable any more. We all know it refers to men and everyone else, but it can come across as "men" only. When we talk about cavemen, the term includes women, but if you are asked to draw a cave man, you will draw a man.
Sorry, that's a long way of saying that although superficially "guys" should be acceptable, it's not really.
"Ladies" when addressing a group of women has connotations and implications that I'd prefer to avoid, "women" as a term of address doesn't work either ( not sure why, can anyone shine a light on that? Is it that we're just not used to hearing it that way)? "Girls" is obviously not acceptable if the females in the group are adults.
"People" or "folks" is about the best we can do at the moment. I'd love to hear ideas for an improved term of address!

If we start calling groups of men ‘ladies’ do you think it would eventually become gender neutral? I doubt it.

‘Ladies’?! You’re going to offend far more people with that word!

You’re on a losing battle with ‘guys’, OP - its use is widespread for mixed sex groups.

Hell, you can’t even say ‘women’ any more.

But give me ‘guys’ over ‘ladies’ any day!

But the women's England football team is not a mixed group.

To ponder further (although only slightly connected, but there are (bigger) issues n the sporting world around gender....) - one wonders how people who "become" women/identify as women or whatever the correct term is would appreciate being then included under a group of "guys"??

"Ladies" would not have been bad at all. That is, after all, what they are.

Being addressed as “guys” wouldn’t bother me, “ladies” on the other hand would make me cringe.

I cannot bear it when groups of women are referred to as 'ladies' ie 'hello ladies'
'You guys' on the other hand makes me
think of Cabin Pressure and is therefore totally acceptable.

I guess 'à chacun son goût' as Martin du Kreff might say .....

I can’t say “you guys” to anyone as every time I hear it Sloth from The Goonies pops into my head “hey you guuuuys”

I think guys is a neutral way of addressing a group of people, regardless of sex.

But - what would you think of AS a "guy".....?

Isn't it kind of mildly offensive to men....?

I was in the corporate world when it started to emerge (along with a lot of the jargon that is now commonplace), and it seemed quite odd "back then". And, to me at least (and others), it still seems - or is - odd.

And the recorded message this morning was cringe-inducing anyway, without that as well.

I’m more offended by “our team of women”
as if everyone on here is from England.

I say “guys” for groups of women all the time 🤷‍♀️

I'd take being in a group called guys over a group called girls every time.

When out with a group of friends would it be a guys night out.
If you were all female.

If you check the dictionary “guys” is not specific to sex - it refers to people not just males

"I couldn’t get worked up over someone using the phrase though."

I'm not saying it's something to get worked up about (brilliant way to shut people down though!)
It's certainly something to be aware of though. What does unisex actually mean?

I disagree.

I cannot stand being called ‘guys’. The world is default male enough already.

I don’t think of that as an address specific to males at all. I’d rather, when with other women, be addressed as ‘guys’ than ‘ladies’.

ask any hetero man about the guy they're dating. They will look at you as though you're batshit.

There are better, genuinely non-sexed words to either refer to a group of people of mixed sex, or a bunch of women. Guys isn't it

Hate it. I’m too old to be addressed as ‘you guys’ ‘ladies’ is fine….mind you, another thing I hate is ‘yous’ 🙈

I don’t mind it at all. There’s no right answer. I’m sure some people don’t like it but equally others wouldn’t like being called “ladies” or whatever. Language changes and ‘guys’ is IMO gender neutral now.

In Scotland you get called ‘pal’ as in, “Alright pal?” Or “That’ll be two quid, pal.”
In Ireland you get ‘lads’. I did laugh when I went into somewhere with my Mum and the you BFF waiter said “Table for two lads?”