Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirtel
Hmm. I take it you're a man. There's no way it would not feel offensive if you're a woman.
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I honestly have to disagree with that statement. Possibly in your location women may be offended by the word "guys". But not anywhere that I've been.
My wife uses "guys" all the time. Maybe more so than I do. She might be addressing her nursing staff, or the ice hockey team that she is captain of, or any random group. Doesn't matter - it's always "guys". We live in Colorado (central USA).
My daughter also uses "guys" much more than anything else. She could be addressing her free diving buddies, the fencing class she teaches, rock climbers she instructs, or her swimming class students. All of these groups are mixed sex. And she lives in Hawaii (central Pacific Ocean). Definitely different cultures between her area and our area. But "guys" is the norm in both places when people speak of groups. (Rock climbing is not a common sport in Hawaii, nor is swordplay for that matter, but she's always been a leading edge person.)
In my experience, "guys" is the word that is used everywhere, with nobody ever taking offense to it. True, I have never been to Estonia, although I would love to visit the Baltic States sometime. Pictures I have seen are beautiful. Don't know if I'll ever get there though. But I will take your advice to heart if I even do make it, and not use the word "guys" to describe a group. You always want to respect the cultural norms of a place you are visiting.
But if someone wants to push "guys" as the newest word that we have to avoid here in the US, I'm afraid that this endeavor may be a difficult hill for them to climb. It's pretty entrenched in everyday language in my experience, and not generally considered offensive in the slightest by anybody.