clownsh0es

I was responding to the statement that a group of women are to be referred to as "girls" colloquially and not "guys" and that this is somehow, rather amazingly, a patriarchal structure.

Equally, I can not say "hey" and just say what I want to say, so what? I can also say "hello" instead of "hey". Your point proves nothing in this context, though I'm sure you like to think it did.

Note that responses are, well, responses, hence there is the handy "parent" feature. But thanks for illuminating the world of possibilities that speech holds!

Furthermore:

"Hey everyone" - Too formal, I want don't want it to sound like an instruction to the group, just who cares to listen in that group of women

"Hey there" - Might be mistaken for a specific person if I happen to glance at them, I want to refer to the whole group (if they want to hear it)

"Hey" - See above.

I'll stick with "Hey guys", thanks!

I guess it's maybe because we've had different experiences. For example, I could see me saying "Hey ladies" to the group of girls that I went to school with. I couldn't imagine addressing women on the street or in work with that phrase unless I developed at the very minimum a friendly relationship with all of them.

But that's just me, you are totally correct I've seen lots of people do it without any complaints what so ever.

I'm sorry, I can't ever imagine approaching a group of women/girls and saying "Hey girls/women, xyz".

I will always without a doubt start off by saying "Hey guys, xyz".

Absolutely incredible, it's like you've never spoken to a group of women before. Go call them girls and see what they think.