I’ve been back and forth with this just because of my habit to use “oh man”, or “oh dude” in the past. I’ve done pretty well with changing the terminology just to keep to the discussion at hand and being respectful for anyone I’m talking to (just feels like basic public respect, like back in the day they would say “Dear Reader,” not really a PC problem to me).
So anyways, I found myself typing “oh boy” the other day and I paused to wonder about it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it brought up in discussions like man or dude. I never even thought of that phrase as it signifying the recipient is a “boy”. The more I think on it I don’t even know what the actual meaning is besides the way in which it is used (like, “shit” or “you wouldn’t believe”).
tldr: Is “oh boy” an acceptable gender-neutral response loop hole so I can be lazier when typing or has this been discussed a lot and I’ve just missed out on it?
I would love to hear the perspectives of everyone and encourage you to voice your opinion (just message if you don’t want other’s chiming in if you prefer)
Hmm, as a non-American, I didn’t know the potentially racist connotation either until I read your post. I’m assuming that it could be interpreted as infantalising black men… But anyway I’m curious about the historical context.