The words women HATE being called by their partners

Can you spot one of the pet names that you loathe?

A survey has shown that when it comes to pet names, there are some that induce feelings of hate more than love in most women.

Do you and your partner have sweet names for each other? Well, according to this survey of over 2,000 British women by Kellogs Special K there are some pet names that simply won't do.

Looking at the effects of language on women, the Special K campaign has found some interesting insights into certain words or phrases that have a negative effect on our nation of females.

In relationships specifically it seems that five terms of endearment have come up trumps as the names to most put us off the most. You might not have guessed it but a staggering 60% of survey participants chose 'bird' as the name they hated the most.

After bird, the top five was made up of 'doll', 'chick', 'babe' and 'queen bee'. These all being seemingly sweet names to show affection, but actually have the opposite effect.

As well as in relationships, the survey found that there are other areas of a woman's life that has no place for sickly sweet pet names. One being the workplace, where 40% of women voiced that they felt uncomfortable being called 'honey' and 'gorgeous', finding these words particularly patronising.

But it's not just the idea of man using these forbidden compliments that drives most women round the bend, 25% of participants also reported that other woman calling them pet names was also unacceptable.

A quarter of the survey shared that if a female co-worker were to call them 'babe' or 'doll' they would find it patronising and belittling.

Do any of these words make you feel uncomfortable when used by a partner or co-worker? Or do you like using them yourself? Have your say in our comments below...

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