Dear Abby readers complain about being addressed as "You guys".
Based on the letters, it seems to be a regional dialect thing. I can see how the word "guy" can be masculine when it is intended to be so, but personally when I say "you guys" it is gender-neutral. By that I mean that there's no intention of gender in it. It's even more gender-neutral than the intentions behind "Everyone should bring his book," because I don't see unless you point out to me and make me think about it how "you guys" could even be interpreted as masculine. It would be like interpreting the word "human" as masculine because the word "man" can be found in it. It isn't even like the French ils for a mixed group (which seems to be falling into disuse, incidentally). In my train of thought in using this word, it isn't marked as masculine at all. It's like "you guys" is a completely separate term from "guy".
So what they should study (in addition to mapping "you guys" usage) is whether anyone who says "you guys" ever intends it as masculine, whether explicitly or through an "everyone should bring his book"/ils/mankind type usage. Because in my dialect there's no thought of gender whatsoever. It's just that we don't have "y'all" or "folks" in our active vocabulary, so there's not much else we can put there.
4 comments:
I always understood "you guys" as gender-neutral, and never understood anyone's dislike of it, but you've explained it. Thanks.
I have a blog-friend (a guy) who says "you gals" for mixed-gender groups - seriously - in an attempt to be more gender-inclusive. But I think "gal" is horrible - demeaning, cloying, outdated. Something out of a 1950s secretarial handbook.
What do you think of the word gal?
Gal sounds like something my grandmother would say - my grandmother being a type who listens to country music and watches wrestling and reads the Toronto Sun and actually did work as a secretary in the 1950s. (Not trying to impose value judgements on these characteristics, just trying to convey the flavour of the dialect.) I would never say it myself because it just isn't part of my active vocab, and if any of my peers or any of my Toronto people uttered it, I'd assume it was an intentional attempt at irony.
A friend of mine used to say "you gynes" when speaking or writing to a group of women. It always got my attention and made me think about the use of words
Sarah
Gynes! Wow.
Re Gal and irony, yes, me too.
Now I think I'm done with this week's catch-up.
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