We provide a qualitative analysis of resistance to calls for gender-neutral language. We analyzed more than 900 comments responding to two essays—one on AlterNet and another on Vox posted to the Vox editor’s Facebook page—that critiqued a pervasive male-based generic, “you guys.” Five rhetorics of resistance are discussed: appeals to origins, appeals to linguistic authority, appeals to aesthetics, appeals to intentionality and inclusivity, and appeals to women and feminist authorities. These rhetorics justified “you guys” as a nonsexist term, thereby allowing commenters to continue using it without compromising their moral identities as liberals or feminists. In addition to resisting an analysis that linked their use of “you guys” to social harms, commenters positioned the authors who called for true generics as unreasonable, divisive, and authoritarian. We conclude with suggestions for how feminists can challenge the status quo and promote social change.

我们对反对性别中立语言的呼吁进行定性分析。我们分析了900条评论，回应了两篇文章（一篇发表在AlterNet上，另一篇发表在Vox上，该评论发布到了Vox编辑的Facebook页面上），这些评论批评了普遍存在的基于男性的泛型“你们”。讨论了五种反抗的措辞：对起源的诉求，对语言权威的诉求，对美学的诉求，对意图和包容性的诉求以及对妇女和女权主义权威的诉求。这些言辞证明“你们”是一个不存在的术语，因此评论员可以继续使用它，而不会损害他们作为自由主义者或女权主义者的道德身份。除了抵制将他们使用“你们”与社会危害联系起来的分析之外，评论员还将那些呼吁使用真正仿制药的作者定位为不合理，分裂，和专制。最后，我们建议女性主义者如何挑战现状并促进社会变革。