If you’re a 21st-century human you’ve probably addressed a group of people as ‘guys’ at some point. Now a debate is raging over whether the term, defined by the Oxford Dictionary as gender neutral, is appropriate when referring to a mixed group of people.

This isn’t the first time that gendered pronouns have come under fire. With the world getting woke to the fluidity of sexuality and gender non-conformity, it’s become important to reconsider the way that language represents society, and how society represents itself through language.

An example of this is using the prefix ‘mx’ (pronounced ‘mix’) instead of Mr, Mrs, Ms or Miss to include people of all orientations, especially those who don’t identify with any particular gender.

BBC Woman’s Hour host Jane Garvey got the debate going on ‘guys’ when she tweeted: “New rule- ‘Hi guys!!’ NEVER say this.” The response has been mixed with some defending the term, while others sympathise with Garvey’s sentiments. Here’s The Independent:

The main issue with the informal greeting, as summed up by Garvey, is “I am not a guy.”

“Common parlance among the young isn’t it? Infuriatingly so, especially when used by waiters…” one person responded…
“I think lots of us use this term in a totally generic non-harmful way,” one person wrote.

Another defended using guys, stating: “What would you say instead, humans? People? It’s not done out of ignorance or sexism, it’s done for the sake of simplicity. Language only works when common definitions are accepted by all, this is unproductive and absolutely absurd.”

Garvey has proposed ‘people’ as an alternative to ‘guys’, something which the Australian Diversity Council was wise to back in 2016 when they warned against using terms like ‘guys’ and ‘girls’ in the workplace.

Best practice is probably to just ask the people you’re talking to about how they want to be addressed. And if you’re still unsure about the dos and don’ts, here’s a handy article by local queer theorist Nyx Mclean to get you started.

[source:independent]