Is it normal for my friends to dislike my new-found confidence?

I am in college now, but still hang out with several childhood friends of mine. When I was young I used to be very shy and submissive. I would always just go with the flow and act as a pushover with my friends. These friends are really nice and they would never do anything truly bad to me, but I do notice that they act in a very dominant way towards me. They kind of boss me around a lot and like to make me the butt of every joke.

However, I am becoming more confident everyday at college. I'm getting new friends and I'm also experiencing what it is like to have more equal relationships with people. I'm getting very used to mutual respect.

So, the weird thing is that every time I hang out with my childhood friends now, they act very pissed when I don't allow them to dominate me anymore. I kind of demand more respect from them and don't allow them to speak over me and stuff like that. They are making a lot of drama about this. I notice that they treat other people with a lot of respect, it is only with me that they make such a fuss over. I conclude that they were so used to making little out of me, that demanding respect now feels like an insult to them.

So, I just wanted to know if anyone had a similar experience and if you think this is normal.