I am constantly annoyed by peoples’ efforts to put me in a labeled
noun box. What is wrong with saying to
me or to me and my friends “you”? It
works singular or plural.
Worst is “you guys”.
It has become a popular tic, and people who refer to us this way don’t use
it only once, but in every sentence. Even when we say we are not guys (similar to
or almost as good as men),* they still can’t stop the tic,
even when they try.
But I don’t like “ladies” as an alternative tic either. To me, lady has always connoted propriety of
upper class with a faint hint of contempt, and I don’t think I have ever been a
lady, anyway. A recent restaurant visit
had the waitress incessantly asking: “Ladies, another drink? How is everything, ladies?”
We are women. We
often tell the speaker that - and if they find that word impossible or terrifying
to use (and many do), they could just leave off the noun and say "you".
*we don’t appreciate the comparison, especially since so
many male bad behaviors are dismissed as “a guy thing”
