"In the early 1960s, dude became prominent in surfer culture as a synonym of guy or fella. The female equivalent was "dudette" or "dudess," but these have both fallen into disuse, and "dude" is now also used as a unisex term." -Wikipedia
I've yet to hear anyone use "dudette" or "dudess" while I see "dude" applied to females all the time.
"In the early 1960s, dude became prominent in surfer culture as a synonym of guy or fella. The female equivalent was "dudette" or "dudess," but these have both fallen into disuse, and "dude" is now also used as a unisex term." -Wikipedia
I've yet to hear anyone use "dudette" or "dudess" while I see "dude" applied to females all the time.