Scott Howard <sc...@doc.net.au> writes: > On Thu, Sep 27, 2012 at 11:10 AM, Jo Rhett <jrh...@netconsonance.com> wrote: > >> Guys seem to think that it's gender neutral. The majority of women are >> used to this, but they have indicated to me that they don't believe it to >> be very neutral. Using "guys" is not gender neutral, it's flat out implying >> the other gender doesn't matter. * >> > > The Oxford English dictionary apparently disagrees with you. > > http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/american_english/guy?region=us&q=guys > (*guys*) people of either sex: * you guys want some coffee? > * > > As other many words in the English language there are multiple definitions, > and one of those definitions is gender specific - but the one above is very > much gender neutral ("either sex" - it doesn't get much clearer than that!)
Well, "either" sort of implies that there are only two sexes. I believe "people of any sex" would have been better. See e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_gender Bjørn