27417
I've been told that いや (in its use similar to いいえ) is a mainly masculine word,
but I've heard many female speakers use it, both as a filler and a content
word expressing disagreement. Is it that young female speakers use it these
days?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-16T01:04:40.897
27411
2022-01-19T05:57:22.673
9971
question
word-choice words spoken-language gender
The word いや - gender?
There are two kinds of いや.

One is the one you mentioned. It basically means 'no'.

The other is a short form of 嫌{いや}だ. This word expresses a feeling of disgust
/ dislike. Actually young female speakers use the short form a lot. Male
speakers say いやだ and seldom use the short form.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-16T03:16:20.070
27413
2015-08-16T03:16:20.070
10770
27411
answer
When いや is used in the sense of being a casual way to say 'no', yes, it is
mostly only used by men. And as Hideki says, 嫌だ meaning disgust or dislike is
the other meaning. The reason I'm submitting a separate answer that says the
same as his is because of potential difference in dialect.

I've been living in Tokyo for several years and I hear women (usually mid
thirties and under) say 嫌だ all the time, and I have never heard a man say it.
This is, of course, just my experience, but perhaps if the other answerer is
living in Kansai or something, it's a difference in trend or dialect.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2015-08-16T07:37:33.790
27417
2022-01-19T05:57:22.673
2022-01-19T05:57:22.673
30454
10907
27411
answer