Women reveal their most hated 'pet' names

Have you been called 'bossy' or 'sassy' for speaking your mind? Have you been called a 'drama queen' when you showed passion for something?

These are are just some of the words British women have deemed derogatory and would most like to ban from the English language.

'Bird', 'doll', 'babe' and 'queen bee' are hated pet names while, 'hormonal', 'drama queen', 'bitchy' and 'hysterical' are the descriptions women find most offensive.

The survey of more than 2000 16-24-year-old British women also found women feel their strength as a female is undermined four times a day.

One third of women reported they have been told to 'man up' in the workplace.

TOP FIVE PET NAMES WOMEN WOULD BAN

1. Bird - 56 percent 
2. Doll - 45 percent 
3. Chick - 42 percent 
4. Babe - 38 percent 
5. Queen Bee - 33 percent

'Hormonal' was the word British women said they would most like to see scrapped from everyday language, with two thirds putting it top of their most hated list.

'Ball breaker', 'highly strung', 'attention seeking', 'emotional' and 'controlling' were among other words women felt had sexist or derogatory undertones.

To strike a balance, 72 per cent of women said they would like to see more women being described as 'confident', or 'resilient' (46 per cent) and 'courageous' (35 per cent).

TOP 20 WORDS WOMEN WOULD BAN

1. Hormonal - 68 per cent 
2. Drama queen - 56 per cent 
3. Bitchy - 53 per cent 
4. High maintenance - 51 per cent 
5. Hysterical - 50 per cent 
6. Ball breaker - 49 per cent 
7. Diva - 48 per cent 
8. Highly strung - 46 per cent 
9. Mumsy - 42 percent 
10. Princess - 40 percent 
11. Attention seeking - 35 percent 
12. Emotional - 31 percent 
13. Manipulative - 28 percent 
14. Bossy - 27 percent 
15. Controlling - 25 percent 
16. Difficult - 21 percent 
17. Sexy - 20 percent 
18. Aggressive - 19 percent 
19. Sassy - 16 percent 
20. Feisty – 14 percent

Nearly a third of British women surveyed said they had been described as a 'flirt' or a 'show off' for being confident growing up – with 30 per cent admitting this has affected their self-esteem later on in life.