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Screenshot of a tweet by @feralhousepuppy: hey so you’ve been calling me “bro”, “man”, and “dude” a lot and it’s really invalidating to my masculinity cause those are all gender neutral things you call trans women :/
Screenshot of a tweet by @feralhousepuppy: hey so you’ve been calling me “bro”, “man”, and “dude” a lot and it’s really invalidating to my masculinity cause those are all gender neutral things you call trans women :/
I really wish there was a word that was as useful as “dude” but without the gender connotation.
I tried swapping to “fam” and “cuz” but those felt appropriated, I tried “gamer” and “chat” but those felt irony-poisoned, “Sis” and “girl” feel performative. So “dude” it shall be until someone tells me it’s bad, and then they get no objective article at all.
I mentioned “cat” elsewhere but this morning I remember Mr. Rogers called us all “neighbor” and I think it could work.
just gonna end up sounding like ned flanders. Not the worst thing to come of as tho, if you look past the religous dogma. Always friendly, and he has a great ass
I prefer homie
“dude” always felt gender neutral to me (though do note English is my fourth language…).
And if you look at the etymology of the word, gender neutrality makes some sense.
It started out as slang in the late 1800s mocking “hyper-fashionable young urban men”.
Then the early 20th century it transformed to describe tourists from the East Coast on the Western side of the country (see “dude ranches”).
And then in the 60-70s it transformed thanks to surfer slang, back to being male oriented.
I’d say if you’re uncomfortable with the “dude” form of the term… use “dood” instead. Or even “d00d” if you’re feeling l33t h4xx0r.
Gendered terms actually very often have really weird etymologies. You’d be surprised how many words for women used to refer to children of any gender (which could be a whole discussion by itself).
So in your examples, it went from making fun of a type of men, to referring to the overwhelmingly-male owners of hobby ranches, to referring to male surfers.
When exactly was it ever gender neutral?
The 80s and 90s skater culture. We’re all dudes https://youtu.be/iKYXmjfQY4U
No…
You got the second part wrong. It wasn’t the “overwhelmingly male owners of hobby ranches” that were called dudes, but, if you read my comment again, you’ll notice I specifically said the UNGENDERED tourists hailing from the east coast - primarily city folk - visiting rural western areas, ranches.
just say “baby”.
bae 2
hmm i can see it but that one would be more difficult to read when you aren’t used to it.
when saying it. it’s a very open-mouthed sound so peeps will probably think they didn’t understand you right, while
babyhas a rather distinct and complete-feeling kinda sound i think.EDIT: it would sound nice tho once peeps know you use that sound-word for everyone >v<
Thanks, baby! :D
hmnawawwaw---- yea see, like, that works maybe and when it does it usually makes the recipient excited which is a wonderful bonus ~
I mean the golden rule with how you speak about people is really just to listen to what people tell you about what makes them feel respected
So feel free to use dude gender neutrally if thats how you speak, and if someone says they don’t feel good in it, stop. If youre worried it might not feel great for someone you can always just say you’re used to using it gender neutrally and ask 🤷🏻♂️
Comrade!
Tovarășe! Să trăiți!
Comrade?
I don’t like dude as gender neutral and don’t think I ever will. I’ll stick with “fam,” “friend,” and “homie” (then again, I am Hispanic, so that might not work for everyone)
let’s go for: hello beings
I too am entering the conversation. Hello fellow resident of Earth.
“what up cuh”
Me omw to commit auditory blackface to avoid using a mostly gender-neutral term gender neutrally
“cunt” kinda works
I think the australians have this figured out with “mate”
Nah, mate is as gendered as dude. Like sure some woman won’t mind, but it’s mostly men being called mate by other men.
No straight man is going to be like “I had sex with my mate” when talking about say a fwb.
Nah, women can easily be mates, it’s not a gendered term at all any more.
Mate doesn’t pluralise well though, ‘I’m going out with my mates’ is fine but ‘hi mates’ sounds wrong. Also a lot of it is in the delivery, calling someone ‘mate’ can be anything from friendly to neutral to hostile depending on the tone and the words which precede it.
Of course “Hi mates!” feels wrong, it needs to be either “g’day mates” or “ahoy mateys” or “oy mates”…
Sorry.
Btw. you have the same “problem” (imho, feature) of tone determining level of friendliness with dude, dude. And partly even with bro, though bro feels harder to turn unfriendly when adressing someone.
For me, “Hi mates” or “oy mates” sounds completely okay, but I’m a non-native speaker.
“howdy folks 🤠”
Always thought mate was fantastic but it sounds weird when Americans use it
Well, I’m Canadian, but I assure you it doesn’t sound any better coming from us.
America should refer to the continent anyway
personally a fan of comrade, friend or pal.
but i also really kinda do use guy and dude gender neutrally. Accidentally have called everyone i know dude at some point. P sure i called my mom dude several timea.
but also aware some people dont like that so i makr a point of asking if know/suspect theyve a non cis gender identity, or correct as needed if asked.
people only really take it badly if its the first time meeting and theres doubt to ones priorities. People are generally very forgiving if you establish intent and willingness to respect each other in my experience
add.:
I like folks but it’s pleural so only works for groups.
Folks is plural, neighbor.
Pleural refers to the lungs and the space that holds them, like “pleural effusions” and “pleurisy.”
Damn autocorrect. Ta.