Is the phrase "you guys" gender specific or gender neutral?

sarabee1995 · 2019-09-20T08:31:41-04:00

Life - Is the phrase "you guys" gender specific or gender neutral? I group up in New England (the... (168 replies).

Poll - Total Votes: 62

Gender neutral -- can apply to a group of men or women or mixed

Gender specific -- applies to men only

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I group up in New England (the northeastern most region of America) and there the phrase is used in a gender neutral fashion.

One of my friends down here just said, "I'm not a guy," when I used the phrase this way.

How about where you're from? Neutral or specific?

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Scribbles · 36-40, F

I think it's mostly Gender neutral for 90 percent of people who hear the phrase often, and 10 percent probably dislike it and feel the term is lacking. That may differ depending on where a person is from. If you are ok with possibly offending someone or encountering a sarcastic "I'm not a guy"...then use it. If you don't want to risk offending someone and dealing with it then don't say it. I figure that's a good rule of thumb for anything.

Personally I don't use it because the phrase reminds me of the movie "the Goonies" and I HATE that movie.

sarabee1995 · 26-30, FVIP

@Scribbles Lol, someone else mentioned that movie and I've never seen it. 🤷

But, yes, I generally do avoid the phrase when I'm outside of New England because I know that cultural norms do vary. But I fell into my "relaxed" speaking patterns and she caught me. Btw, not in an offended way, but a teasing way. She and I joke often about how her southern belle personality might someday rub off on my northern brashness and vice versa.