Sobriquets

Ok, so I am very happy with myself for using the above given term. In fact I have used it several times this week but I still doubt my ability to pull it out of the cranium in a stressful moment of verbal exchange.
But on to the point of this post. Is it a good thing or a bad thing for a guy to call a girl babe or baby or baby doll etc...? I think that it depends on the guy and the context. Anyway, I got on someone's case for calling me "baby doll." He apologized as he considers himself a liberated man of some sort. I wasn't expecting the apology, in fact the more I thought about it, the more I realized I sort of didn't really mind him calling me that b/c I knew it was just to make me mad or to be funny not because he really looked down on me. I am kind of surprised at myself. Shouldn't I be cheering for the victory of one more male put in his place in realizing the inherent chauvinism that exists in all males no matter how hard they try to think of women as equals? What does this say about me???!!!!

I have no answers for the above questions but for you curious males out there here are my conclusions on nicknames for women:

Baby Doll - this is bad. It reeks of male condescension. Of course if you are just trying to be funny, it could possibly be funny.

Baby - A guy can potentially use this term in a positive light regarding a female. But he should be wary and careful. He should probably be at least dating the woman he dares to call this...

Babe - this word can actually be used to the male's advantage. Every girl, no matter how into the feminist ideology she is, secretly wants to be considered "hot." The word "babe" can easily be used to indicate this hot status. However, the male should still be careful.