A recent article in the Florida Times-Union says that though many girls use words like “bitch” and “whore” in a friendly, fun way when addressing their other friends who are girls, there may actually be a real negative side-effect.

Girls who call each other these names in an endearing way – kind of like saying, “Hey girl, how are you?” but going with, “Hey bitch, how are you?” – admit they would be offended if they were called these names by boys or other people. However, among their friends, it’s considered okay and not offensive.

The thing is, researchers say that even being called derogatory names like this by friends as a joke can have a true downside. The article quotes Judy Schoenberg, the Director of Research and Outreach at the Girl Scout Research Institute, who said, “If you grow up and someone keeps calling you a ‘bitch’ and a ‘slut,’ you start growing up thinking that’s what you are. You internalize it, and that’s very dangerous,” Schoenberg said, adding that for girls, self-image and identity depend more on what others think of them than they do for boys.

I am a big believer in the power of words and that what we say has a real effect on how we feel. So it makes sense to me that using these derogatory terms in any way, shape, or form would result in some sort of negative self-image.

What are your thoughts? Do you and your friends call each other names in a “friendly” way? Do you see any downside to doing this?