Why does saying “Hey guys” to a group of girls feel acceptable, but saying ‘Hey girls’ to the same group feels unintentionally flirty and a little creepy?

r/

Why does saying “Hey guys” to a group of girls feel acceptable, but saying ‘Hey girls’ to the same group feels unintentionally flirty and a little creepy?

Comments

  1. Forsaken-Sun5534 Avatar

    “Guy” is generic, but addressing women specifically as women might imply their sex is relevant to what you have to say, especially when you’re a man.

  2. cogsandsprockets Avatar

    “Guy” is becoming gender neutral.

  3. General_Ad80 Avatar

    I would never say “hey guys” to a group of women

    say ” hey ladies” but don’t make a big deal about it it either.

  4. Born-Media6436 Avatar

    Because the world is begging to be offended every minute of the day.

  5. Curious-Principle335 Avatar

    People are weird and take offense to silly things. I am a gay guy and have two other brothers (one is also gay and one is straight). My straight brothers call us “sis” and we call him “sis” or “gurl”. He has never been offended. We just don’t give a fuck. It’s just a phrase.

  6. ArtDecohedron Avatar

    “guys” is increasingly being used gender-neurally, it’s a very useful, short, sweet and casual catch-all when talking with or about a group. Anecdotally, I use it all the time to refer to anyone in a group with me, or to greet my friends, even if it’s just women at the time.

    “hey girls” can be fine too depending on setting, tone and your relationship and power dynamic to them, it’s nuanced and situational. If it feels a little creepy it may just be because unlike the more gender neutral use of “guys”, “girls” is more overtly pointing out your awareness of their gender and making it a focal point of your greeting?

  7. thew0rldisaghett0 Avatar

    It’s all about your confidence level. Lower confidence=you feel creepy. Higher confidence=you dgaf

  8. Chickentrap Avatar

    If you know them it’s okay I think, maybe a little bit camp, I’d probably say hello ladies tho 

  9. sassy_castrator Avatar

    Try saying “Hello boys.” Creepy, guaranteed.

  10. LunchPlanner Avatar

    You just reminded me that in high school I had one friend that had mastered the art of saying “Hello ladies” in the most non-flirtatious way / tone of voice possible. Very useful during sports practices when passing by a girls team.

    I would never even attempt saying that, if I tried it would probably come out sounding weird or creepy.

  11. justryitmyway Avatar

    Side note, you can say both to a group of gay men and come off the same. 

  12. Coal_Burner_Inserter Avatar

    Depends on how you say it. “Hey gurllls” works just fine. Of course I do usually use it with my sister (the singular variant) along with “hey slut” and “sup whore” but really it just depends on how you say it. Which is, very gay-ly. That’s a good thing, btw.