Reddit had a very long era where lots and lots of "I just watched Tennant's Doctor Who and I need to LARP as a kind English gentlesir now" types that also really, really wanted an excuse to say a locally-recognized-as-misogynistic slur but with an imported excuse for why it's not a misogynistic slur while still using it as a misogynistic slur.
Cornfed nerd from Ohio: "U fuckin wot, m8? I swear on me mum that you don't understand that when I say c--t I'm being congenial and everyone says it and I say it to me mum all the time. So stop being a c--t like Literally Who Anita Sarkeesian and Literally Who Zoe Quinn you c--t!"
It's all in the tone. Mate or the c-word can be both positive or negative here. You hear people say "thanks mate" (positively) and "what a dumb c-word" (negatively) just as often as the opposite.