Is there a reason to start this thread with "lads"? Umm, so medieval studies is just for the cishetero men? Particularly when we want to discuss terminology and language?
As someone whose specific SoCal dialect has meant that I have to think constantly about not saying dude/dudes, and that is a dialectal issue, rather than one about left wing irony, I am sure we can just come up w/ other terms: folks, people, group, medievalists, etc.