• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    281 year ago

    I like the use of “guy” as unisex. Like the word “dude”

    He’s a dude, she’s a dude, they’re all dudes

    I use “guys” plural to refer to any group of people, including all women/girl groups. I know saying “that guy” still means “that man/boy” but I’m hoping people will adopt it as completely unisex

    A guy can dream (I’m a cis woman btw)

    • iquanyin
      link
      31 year ago

      i do it too. casual forums are for casual language. i’m a woman and a retired copy editor. words and their usage were my career, and i was trained by one of the top copy editors in the country. you’re on the side of the angels. 🍀🌸😜

    • @daltotron
      link
      31 year ago

      hijacking this post to ask some passing linguist, why is it that any of the invented neopronouns that are socially acceptable and potentially gender neutral, like guy, dude, bro (maybe not that one), how come they’re all male-coded? is that cause it makes it go down easier, or do they just become associated with the boys over time?

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        41 year ago

        I’m not a linguist, but I can answer partially. Women have their own: chick, dame, gurl come to mind. While dame is antiquated, I still occasionally hear “chick”, and “gurl” is used somewhat like “bro” in a close-friends-one-of-us kind of way

        I suspect that, depending on how things progress, words will continue to become more gender neutral. Language is supposed to be fluid and the meaning of words rightly changes over time to reflect the society we live in

        And if I had to guess as to why we have so many that are gendered, it would be for men/boys (of the past) to be able to identify whether the person in question is dateable and for women/girls (of the past) to be able to identify if the person in question could be a threat

        Times are changing, though, and hopefully we can continue to go into a more inclusive/neutral direction. Back when I was a teen alot of this was unheard of. I didn’t even know trans people existed until my 20’s. It took me a while to wrap my head around it, but I’ve mostly caught up and try to use the appropriate language where applicable

      • iquanyin
        link
        11 year ago

        i have a guess! it’s because they originate with guys saying them to other guys. just the way they feel and type of situations i see them in first. (also, don’t forget that every bit of language is invented, not just whatever is recent)

    • @lenguen
      link
      21 year ago

      “One small step for guy, one giant leap for guykind.”