Newmark's Door

Distinguished linguist John McWhorter argues that "you guys" when used to refer to females is not a put down of women. (This something I've argued for a while after hearing famous 40 and 50-something women use the expression casually and unironically.)

 One reason is that English lacks a warm, relatable word for women. . . .

When women call one another “you guys,” “dude” or “bruh,” I don’t hear a fear of being women. They have sapped the gender from a masculine word in order to use it for their own purposes. I hear it as progress.