# Calling women "guys" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 21, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093 "2006-12-21T17:56:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/1 "2006-12-21T17:56:19Z")
Do you call women “guys”? I’m hearing that a lot these days, but why? “Guy” means a male person. What happened to the female equivalent of “guys” — “gals”? ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/2 "2006-12-21T18:09:52Z")
I was born and raised in California, with my mom yelling “You guys knock it off” whenever my sisters and I would squabble. I walk into the break room at work and say “What are you guys up to?”, addressing the roomful of female nurses. I have heard in other places that this is not the way of things. I would never ask what the _gals_ were doing. Gals? Not a word I’ve ever used. Not all words traditionally assigned to a sex now strictly apply: one of the male doctors is the biggest bitch in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/3 "2006-12-21T18:11:19Z")
All the time. On the other hand, I don’t call groups of men “girls.” How is that fair? ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/4 "2006-12-21T18:12:38Z")
Guys and girls thats what women get called! Beats bitches broads or cunts, I suppose but it is a bit lazy calling everyone guys when some of us are truly not guys at all. I like dame, my lady or missus!😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/5 "2006-12-21T18:14:08Z")
“Guy” singular = male. “Guys” plural can be any group, whether single-sex or mixed. I think the distinction has been around for some time now. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/6 "2006-12-21T18:55:49Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] “Guy” singular = male. “Guys” plural can be any group, whether single-sex or mixed. I think the distinction has been around for some time now. [/QUOTE] Isn’t that how Latin-based languages are? Like in Spanish single female is -a ending, single male is -o ending, groups of females -as ending, groups of males -os ending, group mixed is -os ending. Four years of Spanish…sort of blanking. But I think that’s the general gist. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/7 "2006-12-21T19:08:55Z")
“Guy” originally was Guy Fawkes, who became an effigy wheeled around then burned every 5th November in England. In extending to other people, I don’t see why it has to be limited to male people. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/8 "2006-12-21T19:16:11Z")
I say _y’all_, or sometimes _you folks_. I don’t think I’ve ever called a woman a guy. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/9 "2006-12-21T19:16:29Z")
I don’t know why referring to women as ‘gals’ seems so exclusionary…like you are specifically isolating them and treating them differently than you would men solely because of their sex…but to me it just kind of does. I never knew women found ‘guys’ offensive, but I’ll consider this ignorance fought and I’ll try to adjust how I speak from now on. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/10 "2006-12-21T19:17:19Z")
“Girls” often comes off as condescending when used by certain mouths. I’m not saying every time, but often enough. And I’m sorry, but colloquially “guys” does NOT mean boys only anymore. I’ll make you a fair exchange. YOU come up with an appropriate English word for “You -plural”. You make it popular, so the majority of people understand it. And then I’ll start using it. English is severely lacking in this one pronoun. It’s the reason why I don’t mind “Y’all” one bit, because there is no alternative, and why I feel :dubious: when I use “Y’all” and someone chides me because I’m not from the South and yet am using a Southernism. What else am I supposed to say? If you called us “gals” I’d laugh at you. What an antiquated word. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/11 "2006-12-21T19:19:33Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] YOU come up with an appropriate English word for “You -plural”. You make it popular, so the majority of people understand it. And then I’ll start using it. [/QUOTE] The fine people of Western Pennsylvania are way ahead of you on this. You’ns. **shudder** ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/12 "2006-12-21T19:20:39Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] The fine people of Western Pennsylvania are way ahead of you on this. You’ns. **shudder** [/QUOTE] Erm. Can I add - one that actually sounds _good_ to the ears? What an awful word! : runs and hides: ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/13 "2006-12-21T19:30:46Z")
Where I come from people say “Yooz” (as in “Yooz guys”) or “Yuz” (heard from a waitress - “What’ll yuz have?”) (I love this language.) ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/14 "2006-12-21T19:32:20Z")
What’s wrong with “youse”? 😃 (Well, except that it’s often followed by “guys”.) “You girls” is something I can imagine another woman saying, but it does sound condesceding coming from a guy. I can’t imagine how “gals” could ever not be condescending _at best_, no matter whom it’s coming from. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/15 "2006-12-21T19:46:39Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] “Guy” singular = male. “Guys” plural can be any group, whether single-sex or mixed. I think the distinction has been around for some time now. [/QUOTE] Right, if there is a mixed group, one can say “guys”. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/16 "2006-12-21T19:52:27Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Right, if there is a mixed group, one can say “guys”. [/QUOTE] And if it were a group with just women in it, it would still be safer to say “guys” than “girls” (at least with the feminist-leaning women that I know). ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/17 "2006-12-21T20:13:28Z")
I have gotten into trouble for using girls, even though I would greet men of my peers as boys, or guys. so, it is guys for all. Unless I am being specific. ---
**Author:** ![shamrock227](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@shamrock227](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamrock227)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/18 "2006-12-21T20:59:02Z")
I always use “guys” even if it’s just us ladies in the room. Always have. For the most part so does everyone I know. (In the (far) past I have had a few women take offense to that ("I am _not_ a guy"sort of thing) but I haven’t had that complaint since the late 80s/early 90s) so either the sentiment has changed or she had the stick removed. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/19 "2006-12-21T21:06:33Z")
[QUOTE=DianaG] I can’t imagine how “gals” could ever not be condescending _at best_, no matter whom it’s coming from. [/QUOTE] Why would “gals” be condescending? ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093/20 "2006-12-21T21:19:53Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] Why would “gals” be condescending? [/QUOTE] If I may chime in here? ‘Gals’ is very close to ‘girls’. That’s fine for the prepubescent but I’m not a girl. I’m a woman, a lady or one of you guys. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-women-guys/385093.md?page=2)