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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ShadowSister · 51-55, F

I worked that phrase out of my vocabulary for many years. Then in the past few years, I've been observing much more closely the ways women use language. I discovered that it was actually more women who used the phrase of other women than men of other men. So ironically, I added it back into my vocabulary.

sarabee1995 · 26-30, FVIP

@ShadowSister Interesting. And you're upper midwest, right?

ShadowSister · 51-55, F

@sarabee1995 Oh right, that matters. Yes, Wisconsin. I probably also added back in a bit of a Wisconsin accent in an effort to sound like the women around me. I hate that accent lol.

PTCdresser57 · 61-69, M

ShadowSister..for some reason..me being from WI also...women do use the phrase more than guys do.

ShadowSister · 51-55, F

@PTCdresser57 It's honestly never occurred to me that this might be a regional thing. I'm glad I had this conversation!

sarabee1995 · 26-30, FVIP

@ShadowSister Yup, it does. I was trying to get a sense for how widespread the generic use of "guys" actually was. I've gotten in the habit of not using it outside of New England, but it seems based on my poll that it is now near universal.