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Discussion on: Why I'm Not One of the Guys

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Sandra Spanik

Hey! Loved reading this. I recently wrote an article about the unintended harmful consequences of the word “blame” in a git context. I fully agree that language shapes the way we think, feel and behave, and gender defaults are a huge part of this.

When I get “you-guys”-ed I struggle to know whether I feel a twinge of upset because I actually perceive the term as exclusive or whether it’s because I know that I should. I think the context matters, it might be okay to use in some contexts (with friends in your personal time), but is harmful in professional work contexts (where it contributes to biases).