Ah, BillD, ya broke my heart. So ya don't like my kewl or my wimmin??!! What a bytch!

While attending a conference on diversity, I took part in a 3 person discussion. One of the others was a professor from Afica; he'd come from the bigwigs of his tribe and had much to relate about classism, etc. in his country. One thing he pointed out was use of language.

I had been sitting there referring to everyone as "you guys" when he asked me to really think about it. Mind you, we were really paying close attention to language and being inclusive at this conference. He pointed out that I really was leaving out the majority of participants that w/end, as most of us were wimmin and most definitely not "guys." When I asked what he would suggest, he said he uses "folks." So, when I think of it, I do try to use "folks/phoaks" instead. There's no harm in it.

kat