no females here? gah! I definately razz (what our little term is between us) on my guy friends and girl friends. I’ve been told before that I’m not like most girls, so Inigo Montoya you may be right
In my circle, the girls might rag on the guys to mess with them, but there’s very little girl to girl ragging on. It’s all about being supportive between chicks, standing up for one another, etc. Even at work, girls who can’t stand one another will represent for the gender in a petty dispute, could be because we’re a minority in my work environment.
Now what two girls will say about a third girl who’s not present? Entirely different. 
Amazingly, slagging was used effectively to defuse tribal war.
In Mali many centuries ago, the emperor Sunjata Keita decreed that each ethnic group should have a “joking cousin” - another ethnic group. When joking cousins meet, it is their duty to slag each other mercilessly.
I think we need a bit more of this in the world.
I’m female (though rather guilty of the ‘guy-like temperament’ Inigo mentioned earlier, heh…), and this is the complete norm with all my friends, sex irrespective. It’s totally affectionate, and the worse the insult you can get away with, the better the friend. It’s a good way to gauge coolness if you don’t know someone well, too-- anyone who’s offended by being poked at a little bit probably ain’t my kinda cat.
My husband has always referred to his friends good-naturedly as idiots or losers. Women he feels similarly toward are “sweethearts”, so for the most part around here it’s a guy-to-guy thing. It became such a running joke that we now have a largish group of friends that we call the Losers’ Club. (Of course, only the MEN in the club are Losers… the women are known as the LLA, or the Loser Ladies’ Auxiliary.) We’re all very close, but we’re generally ribbing one another, or occasionally ganging up on the sole single male of the group.
Women do it as well, but I think much less casually. I have several good women friends with whom I routinely trade insults, but I’d be hesitant to pull that with someone I don’t know well.
Marley23 - I have a paraplegic (male) friend I have a similar relationship with. I told him not too long ago that I only hang out with him to get the good parking spaces.
I’m a female and my best friends and I do that. Like when I’m greeting one of my friends sometimes she’ll say “hey, hoe!” or “hey bitch!”, and theres no insult meant at all by it, I guess it just comes with being comfortable with your friends.
The boyfriend and I also regularly sling insults at one another (jokingly of course). Our senses of humor are pretty similar and none of it is insulting, its just playful.
Good gods, yes, we do it alla time here. And like someone else said, those who can’t take the copious amounts of bullshit slung their way are looked down upon. My emails to friends regularly start with “Hey, dumbass.”
I cannot believe that nobody mentioned “Yo Mama so…” jokes
Yo Mama is so poor, fat, old…that I picked up a nickel and she said put down my life savings, that she uses the 101 Freeway as a slip n’ slide, that she used to gang bang with the Flintstones.
It’s all about delivery not the actual words but I haven’t played that game with my friends for a few years. As long as it is within the context of the game then it’s ok other than that you might get smacked even if it is a good friend.
When I was teaching ESL in Germany, in a porno class I taught (another story) I explained that the word, “motherfucker” was a very bad word…but I also explained that depending on the person and situation, it wasn’t.
Germans are pretty good at thowing the insults around, and have a pretty good sense of humor about it. As an American, even in my rather conservative office environment, no one hesitates to throw a zinger when it is appropriate.
But am I the only one who has noticed that not everyone can get away with it?
Some people try to give a humorous insult that isn’t funny…others can get away with saying something that would be grounds for murder in any other situation.