I think one argument would be that if you use “only” beforehand then the next linguistic object must (or at least should) be descriptive, meaning that if you only say “guys” then you’re kind of infusing meaning into it, which defaults back to how the word has been used historically. If someone said “I only date cool guys” then I think it’s more ambiguous.
That being said, I also think there is still quite a strong gendered connotation to guy/dude and the gender-neutral definition is pretty modern. The good thing is that language is defined by its usage, so if we decide to use it as a gender-neutral term then eventually that is what it will become.
I think one argument would be that if you use “only” beforehand then the next linguistic object must (or at least should) be descriptive, meaning that if you only say “guys” then you’re kind of infusing meaning into it, which defaults back to how the word has been used historically. If someone said “I only date cool guys” then I think it’s more ambiguous.
That being said, I also think there is still quite a strong gendered connotation to guy/dude and the gender-neutral definition is pretty modern. The good thing is that language is defined by its usage, so if we decide to use it as a gender-neutral term then eventually that is what it will become.