To those who would posit that “guys” does not refer only to males:
Once upon a time, “mankind” was in vogue to mean all people. Except when it wasn’t, like in having property rights, citizenship rights, autonomy. Now, people are recognizing that “mankind” does not include women. After all, “womankind” is also a word. If you flip it, would men feel included in a reference to “womankind”? I doubt it.
This is what growing up in patriarchy does — people don’t even realize common language can be sexist.
Easy alternatives to mankind or guys: humankind, people, peoples, the human race, humanity, human beings, humans, populace, community, society, citizens, crowd, human family, public, masses, folks, individuals…
“Guys” is informal, but its origin dates back to a guy named Guy in 1605. And earlier (14th c.) it was derived from other nouns such as guide and leader, and rope, chain, wire.
And if “guys” had an opposite, it would be “gals.” Again, flip it. If we said “gals,” would men feel included in that reference? Doubtful.
Inclusive and nonsexist is better. I’m trying to eliminate “guys” from my vocabulary also.
