I hate the term "Product Guy"

Seems like the title "product manager" is going out of fashion. I keep seeing PM types who are now introducing themselves as "the Product Guy."

I can't stand this term. And I'm not the only one.

Why? I find the term kind of sexist. Yes, it's because it has "guy" in the name and therefore there is no female equivalent.

What's the equivalent female term anyway? Product Gal? Product Princess???

Those terms sound strange, don't they? If I introduced myself that way, wouldn't it seem like I was trying to make a big deal of my gender? So, don't make me do that. Please, I beg you, don't use Product "Guy" to describe yourself.

And please don't call the actual role a "Product Guy. Yes, I've seen recruiting ads specifically seeking a "Product Guy". I've heard people chatting and saying that what the company really needs is a Product Guy. Please don't do that. If you refer to the job role with this gendered term, you are contributing to the impression that this role has to be filled by a man.

I can speculate as to why you're calling yourself a "Product Guy" instead of a Product Manager. I'm guessing it's because you don't want to seem all "manager-ish" or like a big-company-corporate type. You might want to stay away from the "Manager" term because you think it might imply that you are higher up the ladder or more important than engineers, and you definitely don't ant that because engineers hate management types. (That's why the "growth hacker" term became popular a few years ago.)

I understand the reasoning, because that's why I went with "Blog of a Product Geek" as a subtitle for this blog.

But still, I ask that you recognized "Product Guy" is sexist and pick a different term. For yourself and for the official role.

Some alternatives:
Product lead, product leader, product pro, product guru, product strategist, product geek, product pilot, product expert, head of product, product evangelist, product architect, customer development, product owner, product artisan, even (gag) product hacker or growth hacker are preferable. (But you should stay away from "productologist" because it unfortunately shortens to "proctologist" Anyone have any other ideas? (Please don't recommend Product Princess).

Or you could just be traditional and accurate and use "Product Manager".