I have been to few meetings recently where those taking the stage have addressed the assembled masses as "You Guys".
I have tried very hard to be a modern man but have found this very informal style uncomfortable and not a little bit baffling.
I was brought up in the old school of being respectful to my elders and contemporaries and on the rare occasions that I have had to speak in public I have used the terminology which I was brought up with of "Ladies and Gentlemen" and that rather comedic phrase of "Boys and Girls".
It seems that "You Guys" is widely used in all manner of social situations and seems to be accepted as the norm by both sexes and wider gender groups whom you would fully expect to be outraged and insulted by such a non-specific labelling.
I am not really sure where it came from.
Likely sources could be the media in general where laddish or pop culture behaviour rapidly establishes trends amongst the wider public.
The particular crowd at the recent meeting was of broad social background and age profile, many much older than myself and it would have been very interesting to ask a selection of them about their reaction to the generic address.
I can foresee some problems of misunderstanding and misinterpretation.
Take that phrase spoken in a broad Australian accent and it could be misconstrued as alluding to sexual orientation.
It would be easy to mishear the words in noisy surroundings as "Huge thighs",or equally derogatory terms.
As with most popular trends it will eventually fade into obscurity or be superseded by the next best invention such a "Earthlings", "You Prolls" or "Hey You!".
The campaign should really start straight away and what better time to begin, what with the England football team just losing out to Uruguay's best.
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