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 use y’all a lot and im near Chicago
I’ve started using it and I’m Canadian.
I’ve started using it and I’m north of Canada … In Detroit
Did you know that you can be north of Canada … in California?
https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-75f887668c7f322a0dd1a226e128cea3
TIL
At a more northern latitude than part of Canada. Detroit is directly north of part of Canada
What in the world. They need to fix that on the next patch.
yinz
For those not in the US south and afraid of being judged, “all” on its own is an option.
“Hi all” is unlikely to raise any eyebrows
And, for larger groups, all y’all.
yall sounds super trashy.
you’uns
Or if you’re near Pittsburgh, “yinz” is the proper spelling/pronunciation.
Youse if you’re a Geordie.
further down under you may hear “hey, yous lot…”
Y’all doesn’t get enough love. It is gender neutral and extremely versatile.
It’s become the go-to in my company
Do you work with me? I’m in the US south and my EU colleagues love “y’all” and have started using it (ironically or not :) pretty often.
Warms my heart.
I have no hint of a Southern accent, but when I moved here “y’all” became almost an instant part of my vocabulary.
A LOT of my company is remote, but we are headquartered in Providence Rhode Island.
I agree. It’s the plural of “you” that should be the official standard, since it disambiguates “you.” It can even be broadened to include larger groups via “all y’all,” as in, not just y’all in talking to, but all y’all in the house.
It can replace “guys”, but not “man,” though.
The plural of you is yous or ye. In Ireland at least.
Vosotros agrees.
Or in German: euch
I’m under the impression that you pronounce it the same way this cat looks.
You know… that’s about right.
😂😂😂😂😂
I still wonder why English (a Germanic language) doesn’t have its own pronoun for the plural 2nd person like German (euch) or Dutch (jullie), I think it kinda helps with distinction between talking to one person and talking to multiple people.
The problem is… what pronoun should we choose? I think “yinz” would sound kinda cool, but nobody outside of a very specific spot in the US actually uses it (other than myself I guess).
Ustedes if you’re less formal or you live outside Spain 😁
if you’re less formal
What a fun way to phrase that. You’re not wrong but it’s making me giggle.
I can’t do it, I don’t want to sound like I’m from the South.
Take it from them!
If everyone starts using it, it won’t sound southern any more. C’mon, you know you want to.
It sounds cringeworthy if you’re not American though. The standard way of saying it is “you lot” and other dialects, like mine, have “yous”.
Here where I’m from in the US, you occasionally hear a “y’alls” and now I’m going to start using it as a cultural gap between your dialect and mine.
Scott the Woz on Lemmy? :o
“Hey y’all, Scott here.”
“Foolish mortals” is my go-to gender neutral form of address
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Comrade.
☭
You people
Dude.
I’m a dude. He’s a dude, She’s a dude. We’re all dudes.
Trans women sometimes feel uncomfortable when they are called dude, so if you’re aiming for maximum comfort of people, dude is not a great choice.
Well, to make a more serious comment instead of just quoting an old song from an old movie, it’s definitely most important to call people by pronouns that they prefer. That’s the number 1 priority.
That said, I have some trans friends who don’t like gender neutral pronouns in general. One in particular has explained how much she has gone through to be able to identify as a woman, and using “they” instead of “she” makes her feel like she still isn’t a woman.
So the real answer is there’s no one word that will make everyone happy. They best way to do that is to ask people the pronouns they prefer.
I never though about that aspect of it, thanks for sharing that friend’s perspective.
the best take. as with everything, there is no one size fits all solution
Yep, especially your mom, she’s probably the best dude
Hey !
What I use is y’all or folks for plural, and dude for singular.
Mate Cunts Dickheads
Mortals
“What’s up dog turds?”
“How’s it hanging, dingleberry?”
“Nice job, Captain Hazelwood!”
I do actually know someone who speaks like this.
Fellow kids
Dudes is fine - folks and yall also work. I use yall all the time even though I’m now in Canada and have never lived in the US south.
Guys, I think, is still a bit too gender associated but it’s borderline. Man is often used in a gender neutral manner but it is very easy to misinterpret and a transwoman could reasonably assume you’re trying to troll them.
You’ve also got fella and feller, I think the latter one is more gender neutral than the former.
Earthlings is the only valid option
Earthicans
Earthletes.
I prefer humanoids. One can never be too careful…
"Gentels and Ladymen“
I just omit the unnecessary words or use their name. That works OK, although I’m awful with names so usually it just becomes “Good job!” or “What’s up?”.
Funny story time: in English I find this is not so bad. In French it’s worse. In Vietnamese it’s awful. We have dozens of pronouns. They’re not only mostly gendered, but contain information about their age and perceived status relative to you. It’s a 3-dimensional matrix where the axes are approximately gender, age/hierarchy, and degree of relation (inlaws/blood relations/strangers). You even get a different word for yourself in some of these situations. Then sometimes there’s a numerical rank inside each pronoun e.g. male uncle, my spouse’s family, 3rd oldest.
The language is already at maximum pronoun burden. Honestly it would just be easier if we called each other ‘human’ or ‘comrade’ or ‘citizen’ or something equally encompassing. It’s exhausting as a non-native speaker (and you are not ever allowed to use their names, that’s considered super rude).
