So I’ve realized that in conversations I’ll use traditional terms for men as general terms for all genders, both singularly and for groups. I always mean it well, but I’ve been thinking that it’s not as inclusive to women/trans people.
For example I would say:
“What’s up guys?” “How’s it going man?” "Good job, my dude!” etc.
Replacing these terms with person, people, etc sounds awkward. Y’all works but sounds very southern US (nowhere near where I am located) so it sounds out of place.
So what are some better options?
Edit: thanks for all the answers peoples, I appreciate the honest ones and some of the funny ones.
The simplest approach is to just drop the usage of guys, man, etc. Folks for groups and mate for singular appeal to me when I do want to add one in between friends.
Y’all
I love “y’all”. It is one of the only things that Texas was way ahead of the curve on. It is gender neutral, easy to say, grammatically correct, and has such a long history that it doesn’t sound forced or intentionally PC.
Y’all is the way. Y’all is the future. Peace, y’all.
And you can go one layer more and say “all y’all” when you really mean everyone. It’s a great word, I just wish I liked how I sounded when I say it.
As a Australian, I tend to shy away from USAisms as a matter of course, but I 100% agree. English lacks a formal plural form of “you”, and while Australia has its own informal variation (“youse”), I’m a big fan of y’all.