"Foolish mortals" is my go-to gender neutral form of address
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y'all
Y'all doesn't get enough love. It is gender neutral and extremely versatile.
Vosotros agrees.
Or in German: euch
I'm under the impression that you pronounce it the same way this cat looks.
I can't do it, I don't want to sound like I'm from the South.
If everyone starts using it, it won’t sound southern any more. C’mon, you know you want to.
Esteemed personages.
Fellow humans
Cunts
Oi! You're a good cunt!
"Buddy" is gendered?
Yep. It's a name for teen boys or for men that are significantly younger than the speaker. Typically said by men rather than women too.
No one says "Hey buddy" to a teen girl, or to a woman a couple of decades younger than them
I'm not no one. Buddy can be used for pretty much anyone. You're definitely right about it addressing younger people though.
My boyfriend’s nephew calls me buddy and I am a woman about ten years older than him, we are both adults so he isn’t a confused toddler either. It might vary regionally. It simply means friend in our case. I don’t think he is trying to make me out to be younger than him. Maybe it is his way of declaring I am “one of the guys”, however.
What's up, cunts
Works best if they're your friends and also you're in Australia
Remember, non binary ppl exist too! (in reference of "both genders")
The term "fucker" covers all bases.
But what about asexual people?
Since the term isn't about actual sex, it's fine
"Citizens". It has the added benefit of implying that you're an authority figure and they're in trouble.
Not everyone is a citizen in the place they happen to be. In my country, more than 30% of permanent residents are not citizens.
But they are still citizens (of somewhere)
Usually yes, but not always, some are stateless.
I’m AFAB enby, saying “you guys” and calling me “dude” is fine. Those to me aren’t gendered anymore. The people who get offended at general terms like these for groups of people need to touch grass.
But if you’re dead set on it, embrace y’all lol. Just don’t say it with a southern drawl and you’ll be fine. It’s a fantastic gender neutral term. You can also just train yourself not to add in the “you guys” to the “what’s up” phrase, and maybe just say “what’s up with you?” “What’s up with you all?” Etc.
"Offended" is a bit of a strong word.
Many trans folks are, understandably, bummed out when gendered terms that refer to their AGAB are used to refer to them.
I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to avoid causing that brief moment of dysphoria. That just feels like a thoughtful and kind thing to do.
It’s good that OP means well, but also there are so many of us who do not care and are not affected because we know the speaker is using a generalized term and isn’t (usually) being malicious with it. I call several of my cisgender girl friends “dude” and “bro” and I’ll call men “girl” as a joke sometimes (like, girl what are you doing?). Many of these terms simply have completely lost their original gendered meaning in a lot of contexts.
That's great, and it's nice that you don't have to deal with that jolt of dysphoria in those situations.
I'm simply saying that it's also common (and okay) to not be entirely comfortable with those terms. Especially from strangers or acquaintances.
I don't think seeking to reduce the linguistic pattern of male as the default is a misguided effort.