Talking Smack: Flirting, or Unhealthy, Misogynistic, Psychologically Screwed-Up Male Behavior?

This is what my soul mate said about me to a group of friends Friday night as we left to walk through an area of Philly that is occasionally shady: "I mean, c'mon, just LOOK at this guy. Who wouldn't mug him?"
Ouch.
And this is what I said Saturday night after Deborah mistakenly told the usher at the movie theater that her ticket said Seat 8, not Seat 13:
"Sorry about that, sir. She's still learning her numbers."
Oooooooh, snap.
Deborah and I have always viewed shit-talking as centrally important to our relationship, because it's the only way we know how to flirt. We are, indeed, 9 years old.
But apparently, this is now a big problem. According to a study that this guy published in the Journal of Personality and Individual Differences, men insult their partners as an unhealthy, negative way of trying to hold onto them.
But why do women do it? They haven't studied that yet, but you just know it's gonna end up being our fault. So I'd like to formally apologize in advance. We won't let it happen again.