What is a gender neutral replacement for man, guys, buddy, etc?

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.

Wes_Dev,

I bit the bullet and was the cringy person at work who said “peeps”. After a few months of do this, it was amusing to see the word spread until my boss’s boss started saying peeps in meetings.

ChaoticEntropy,
@ChaoticEntropy@feddit.uk avatar

Choom(s).

no_time_like_the,

You could copy Scooby do and refer to the group of people as ‘gang’, ‘team’ works too

golden_zealot, (edited )
@golden_zealot@lemmy.ml avatar

Fellas

edit: please correct me if you believe I am wrong, I am open to discussion.

Floey,

I’ve heard the term fellas used a lot specifically to delineate something as gendered. “It’s for the fellas” = “It’s a dude thing”

golden_zealot,
@golden_zealot@lemmy.ml avatar

I see, I think this is true colloquially, just not in definition.

Abird1620,

Isn’t that also for dudes?

golden_zealot,
@golden_zealot@lemmy.ml avatar

Not inherently to my knowledge.

It is a modification of ‘fellows’, fellows etymology coming from ‘late Old English fēolaga ‘a partner or colleague’ (literally ‘one who lays down money in a joint enterprise’), from Old Norse félagi, from fé ‘cattle, property, money’ + the Germanic base of lay1.’

Colloquially, the term might often reference men, but I cant find any evidence it is exclusive to them.

Abird1620,

Not only was this response well written, I enjoyed the fact. Thanks for making my day through a little factoid.

golden_zealot,
@golden_zealot@lemmy.ml avatar

No worries, have a good day :)

BonesOfTheMoon,

I say y’all. It’s inclusive.

tetris11,
@tetris11@lemmy.ml avatar

It is, but I feel as a non-southerner (or even US), I feel obliged to go full Sandy Cheeks and it never ends as well as I think it does.

Arfman,

I’m in Australia and I’ve started using this, in addition to folks

TheWoozy,

Youens

BonesOfTheMoon,

Yowwens!

Resol,
@Resol@lemmy.world avatar

For me it’s just “all”.

KingThrillgore,
@KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml avatar

Comrade.

☭

No_Ones_Slick_Like_Gaston,

Our tovarich

survivalmachine,

I’ve never had an issue with y’all and “dude/dudes” in gender neutral ways. They’re the natural words I grew up with. On rare occasions, somebody doesn’t prefer “dude” and I’ll use different terms for them and around them.

In professional settings such as work email, I tend to use the more formal gender-neutral terms like “people” and “everybody” and “they/them”, but I’m also in a region where “y’all” is accepted in formal conversation, so I often use that.

pyr0ball,

Both my partner and I use “dude” interchangeably for all genders. They’re NB for context

pearable, (edited )

Folks for groups and friend for individuals is my go to. Comrade if you want to be spicy

TexMexBazooka,

The simplest approach is to accept language is inherently gendered, and at a certain point it is exhausting to either take offense to everything or walk on eggshells.

I’m southern, so I use y’all almost exclusively lol

JasonDJ,

Did you just assume my language?

Tlaloc_Temporal,

I’m more of a “be the change you wish to see” kinda person. I’ll neutralize my language to encourage others to do the same, eroding the banks of the river of language in the direction I wish it to go.

dangblingus, (edited )

Guys is 100% gender neutral.

Also, can’t go wrong with the old standby “Stay Fresh, Cheesebags!”

nomen_dubium,

can you explain how guys is gender neutral? or did i miss the /s?

Pwnmode,

Coming from a Midwestern state in US, guys, is a very common word. I would say GenX/Millennials use it most, can’t speak for GenZ much, or Alpha as I never know what they are saying anyway.

Riven,
@Riven@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Probably because people have been using it since the 90s for either gender. Same with dude. I was in high school over a decade ago but back then I remember dude and guys being gender neutral, both guys and girls used it that way. Funnily enough this same conversation was happening back then too among my peers, and we all agreed it was already gender neutral at the time.

nomen_dubium,

ah fair… we used dudette cos it’s funny but i get the point…

guess i never thought about it much cos i jumped on the chance to be encouraged to use all the sillier alternatives at work etc haha

Zitronensaft,

If you said “I brought some guys back to my place last night”, do you really think people would be imagining a mixed gender group? Do you think they would ever imagine you brought a group of women back with you when you said that? Guys is masculine sometimes used to generalize across a group that includes non-males. It only applies when at least one male is around.

ProdigalFrog,

I would probably use gals in your specific example, but personally, I would use guys if addressing a group of girl friends, but that’s just how I perceive the word. I guess once you add ‘the’ or ‘some’ behind guys, I perceive it as masculine, but it feels totally neutral to me in other contexts, such as “C’mon guys, let’s go X!” or “Guys, check this out.”

EdibleFriend,
@EdibleFriend@lemmy.world avatar

Fucker.

n3m37h,

Oi, stop being a cunt - some Auzzie

EdibleFriend,
@EdibleFriend@lemmy.world avatar

Wait, I take back my suggestion. This is it.

n3m37h,

Take off ya hoser - some Canadian

Asafum,

Sup fuckers,

As per my previous email we should set a schedule for a meeting with the fuckers in the sales department.

EssentialCoffee,

Folks or Everyone tend to be my go to.

Surp, (edited )
@Surp@lemmy.world avatar

I’m just going out on a limb to remind people it’s totally ok to say sup man to legit anyone. People that care about that stuff are people you can choose to change it for if you want to be around that type of person.

OceanSoap, (edited )

All the alternatives make me cringe.

If someone is insulted that you use the term “guys” for a group, they’re not worth being friends with. That’s a lot of exhausting mental energy to deal with. Ignore 'em and move on.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • asklemmy@lemmy.ml
  • Durango
  • DreamBathrooms
  • thenastyranch
  • magazineikmin
  • tacticalgear
  • khanakhh
  • Youngstown
  • mdbf
  • slotface
  • rosin
  • everett
  • ngwrru68w68
  • kavyap
  • InstantRegret
  • JUstTest
  • cubers
  • GTA5RPClips
  • cisconetworking
  • ethstaker
  • osvaldo12
  • modclub
  • normalnudes
  • provamag3
  • tester
  • anitta
  • Leos
  • megavids
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •