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In an interactive story (that's why it is impossible to quote the text), the main character said to herself:

Am I the bad guy here?

when she was questioning a bad action, which has been done by a male character, then started doubting him.

There are many alternatives like one and person, but she chose to say guy.

Is it normal and usual to say that exact phrase by its common wording even if it needed logically to be changed? Or was that wrongly used in the story?

Learning Equals Success
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    The terms bad guy and a bad girl have very strong and very different connotations and one cannot be substituted for the other without the high risk of a misunderstanding. Guy, more generally, is accepted by many though not all as gender-neutral; see e.g. Addressing a group of women as “you guys” and at EL&U, Is “guy” gender-neutral?, but again, the phrase bad guy (like bad girl) means more than the literal meaning of its components. – choster May 13 '19 at 16:44
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    I found the idiom "bad guy" but not "bad girl" though. I think it may be used as it is an idiom that shouldn't be altered although some natives find that some rewording of the idioms can be acceptable. About (Is "guy" gender neutral?)-- the high rated answer stated this regarding "guy": *The singular "guy" is another animal. It refers to males. It is also used to draw gender distinctions in a general way. (A guy walked into my store and asked for some cigarettes.) There is no doubt that this is a man we're talking about.* – Learning Equals Success May 13 '19 at 17:21

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Bad guy is an idiom most common in film but used for any fiction to describe the villain of any sex of a story. "In 101 Dalmations, the bad guy is called Cruella de Vil. In Duel, the bad guy is the car!" The opposite is good guy. "Do you think De Niro is better as bad guy or good guy?"

It is also used when describing real life circumstances as if they were a film.

The pronunciation of "bad guy" with this meaning is run together, to the extent that children will say "ba'guy" as if one word. Compare "a green house" (green paint, prnonunced separately) and "a greenhouse" (glass, pronounced run together) The same with "the white house over there" and "The White House in Washington".

Also in many circles, guys is used equally for men and women, in some circles it is specifically men. In the singular, guy is male everywhere I know about. (I checked with a couple of Californian writers, who tell me that in the second person "guys" is used for mixed sex and even single-sex female groups. Otherwise, in their circles, "guys" is normally understood to be male, "guy" is always male. Sample of two, San Francisco, one 20s the other 50s.)

Glorfindel
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jonathanjo
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  • Thank you so much, jonathanjo, for the answer! I would like to know some of those circles where "guy" can be used equally. I have searched about the term "guy", and it meant "man" literally. But I agree that it can be referred to either gender if it was in its plural form. – Learning Equals Success May 13 '19 at 17:12
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    Updated to clarify: yes, "one of the guys" might be a girl. "A guy" is going to be male. But I'm going to check with some young US native speakers how they use it. – jonathanjo May 13 '19 at 17:27
  • Okay. I'm looking forward to knowing their answers. By the way, if you want me to delete my first comment, I will. – Learning Equals Success May 13 '19 at 17:31
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    jonathanjo is right about singular guy being male, and "the bad guy" as a description for villains. Another place the idiom "the bad guy" is used for women is in discussions of childrearing where the role of disciplinarian/keeping things on track is disproportionately shared. You see articles with sentences like "I'm the one who makes sure they do their homework and eat their vegetables, while he gets to take them out for movies and ice cream. Why do I always have to be the bad guy?" Here's one: https://www.babble.com/parenting/im-tired-of-always-having-to-be-the-bad-guy/ – Katy May 13 '19 at 17:39
  • @Katy _ "Guy" in general or just in this specific idiom can be used to refer to females? I read the article and noticed how many times they used the idiom for such cases. Thank you for linking it. – Learning Equals Success May 13 '19 at 18:08
  • @TasneemZH I would say that unless it's in this specific idiom, I would be surprised to see the singular "guy" used to refer to a woman. The plural, on the other hand, is common as a gender-neutral plural in my experience. I attended an all-girls school where the most frequent plural address of groups was "guys" or "you guys." – Katy May 13 '19 at 18:13
  • @Katy _ Yes, I completely understand the plural term references. Do you happen to know anything about an idiom that includes "bad girl"? – Learning Equals Success May 13 '19 at 18:24
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    @TasneemZH "Bad girl" has the general meaning of a girl that flouts society's rules, but frequently has a connotation that she's sexually promiscuous. There's a reality tv show named "Bad Girls Club" that you can read the description of here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Girls_Club – Katy May 13 '19 at 18:33
  • "In my experience "bad girl" means a) a female child who has misbehaved; b) in direct address, a female dog that has misbehaved; or c) a (usually young) woman who has done something sexually inappropriate, or who has done something considered immoral, usually in an way that is at least associated with a sexual context, such as being too free with males not well known to her and/or her family; or d) more specifically, a female prostitute – David Siegel May 13 '19 at 18:36
  • A singular "guy" is most often a man, but I occasionally hear ii used in contexts where it means a woman, or a person of unknown gender. For example ther is a current popular song which includes the line "any guy like you deserves a gentleman" where I think it is clear that "you" is a woman. This is still an uncommon usage, but may be growing. – David Siegel May 13 '19 at 18:40
  • @Katy _ Reading its description has reminded me of when I heard about it. So, it exists as a common phrase, but it is not an idiom nor is related to the "bad guy" idiom; thus, it can't be substituted there. I appreciate your consideration of sharing such valuable information. Thank you. – Learning Equals Success May 13 '19 at 19:05
  • @DavidSiegel _ It seems to have a very bad reputation and therefore is better to be avoided. About "guy", this is so strange, but it can't be helped. Thank you for stating those two explanations. – Learning Equals Success May 13 '19 at 19:13
  • @katy .. I'd have said that use ("Why do I always have to be the bad guy?") is describing real life as if it was a film/novel/etc. Would you agree? – jonathanjo May 13 '19 at 19:58
  • @Katy wouldn't get notified, jonathanjo, as this mentioning thing is case-sensitive. – Learning Equals Success May 14 '19 at 13:20
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    @TasneemZH .. updated with survey of San Francisco usage. – jonathanjo May 14 '19 at 20:45