So I’ve realized that in conversations I’ll use traditional terms for men as general terms for both genders, both singularly and for groups. I always mean it well, but I’ve been thinking that it’s not as inclusive to women/trans people.
For example I would say:
“What’s up guys?” “How’s it going man?” "Good job, my dude!” etc.
Replacing these terms with person, people, etc sounds awkward. Y’all works but sounds very southern US (nowhere near where I am located) so it sounds out of place.
So what are some better options?
If you said “I brought some guys back to my place last night”, do you really think people would be imagining a mixed gender group? Do you think they would ever imagine you brought a group of women back with you when you said that? Guys is masculine sometimes used to generalize across a group that includes non-males. It only applies when at least one male is around.
I would probably use gals in your specific example, but personally, I would use guys if addressing a group of girl friends, but that’s just how I perceive the word. I guess once you add ‘the’ or ‘some’ behind guys, I perceive it as masculine, but it feels totally neutral to me in other contexts, such as “C’mon guys, let’s go X!” or “Guys, check this out.”