When I was younger, a man, not a boy, an operator on the phone said, "What is your name ma'am?" (I was making a collect call). I didn't freak out or ask for her supervisor or even let it bother me in any way. It's what you make of it. If you want to act as though it's a life altering experience, then that's what it's going to be. I also have two girls and it's not uncommon for one girl to come up to a group of girls and say, "What's up GUYS!".
This is nothing more than making a mountain out of a molehill.
And why are you defending this anyway? You're endlessly calling people stupid, dumb, ignorant...
That's exactly what I'm talking about. It's so institutionalized that females generally don't have a problem being refered to in the male gender. But when a boy walks into a room full of other boys, and says "What's up girls?"... what is the reaction? Whether they make a big deal about it is irrelevant. They will feel offput by it, ...whether it is expressed or not. they will be momentarily disoriented, ...not sure what to make of it.
"Is this guy insulting us?" "Is this guy gay and just being effeminate?" They're not quite sure what to make of it, ...but it's not casually accepted in stride without a 2nd thought. That's what I'm talking about.... the everyday acceptance of common terms & phrases. Term & phrases so institutionalized, that people rarely give thought to any possible offense or denigration they may bring for others.
You ask why I defend it. I don't defend it, ...I just don't see a reason to attack it. A better question for you is,
...are you so blinded by a sense of entitlement & priviledge, that you are unable to see how some things may cause subtle and/or unstated offence to others, ...and are you so inconsiderate that you would attack suggestions for people to practice conscious tconsideration. I thought we were tired of people sleep walking. What's so wrong with being aware? ...other than the fact that with awareness comes personal accountability?