Wifebeater (shirt)
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"Wife beaters", also wifebeater, and sometimes abbreviated as simply beater, is a controversial, sometimes pejorative slang term used in parts of North America and other places to refer to a sleeveless undershirt. Other terms are an A-shirt, tank top, singlet, or "muscle shirt" when worn as a sole, outer layer as opposed to being worn under another shirt. "Guinea-T" or "Dago-tee" are colloquialisms for "wifebeater" used in the New York City area; these terms are also demeaning as they reference slurs for Italian-Americans.
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[edit] History
The origin of the term is from the stereotype that the shirts are worn predominantly by men who beat their wives. In the 1951 film A Streetcar Named Desire, the character Stanley Kowalski (played by Marlon Brando) who is frequently seen wearing tank tops, violently rapes his sister-in-law Blanche. In the 1980 movie Raging Bull, the main character, Jake LaMotta (played by Robert De Niro), is commonly seen wearing tank tops around the house, including in one scene where he beats his wife.
The wifebeater is also seen in the New Zealand movie Once Were Warriors, where Jake the Muss, a stereotypical Māori tough man is nearly always seen wearing this item of clothing, which in New Zealand is called a "singlet", specifically, a "black singlet". (This movie is well known for the scene where Jake violently beats his wife after a heavy drinking session with his friends.) Dark coloured singlets are a common item of clothing for farmers, foresters/bush workers, road workers and others involved in manual labour outdoors either as an undergarment or as the sole garb worn on the upper body. It is often quite loose fitting. White singlets are commonly worn by men under business shirts, though this practice is not as widespread as in years past. Singlets of a range of colours are seen being worn frequently on beaches. Until more recently, the stereotype that men who wore singlets beat their wives did not exist in New Zealand and the term "wife beater" was not used to describe this style of shirt.
[edit] In the media
Building 19, a New England-based discount store, put an ad in their 2006 Presidents' Day flyer for A-shirts. It was advertised as being a "Wife-Beater" shirt. Building 19 management (and the cartoonist who drew the ad) later apologized.[citation needed]
In 2005, a bar in Dunedin, New Zealand was fined for its "wifebeater Wednesday" theme night aimed at attracting students by giving out singlets.
Black tank tops were often worn by Ike Turner, a notorious abuser of his wife Tina.
Officers on the television series COPS have often captured domestic violence participants wearing a wifebeater.
Wifebeaters were also favored by Detective John McClane, played by Bruce Willis in the Die Hard series of films. Notably in the first film of the series, McClane's undershirt gets increasingly distressed and dirtied, and is subsequently used as a tourniquet for his gashed foot.
Duke Nukem has worn a red wifebeater in all of his games since Duke Nukem II.
Tony Soprano, the fictional mafia don in the HBO television series The Sopranos, wears wifebeaters as undershirts and sleepwear. He can be seen wearing a wifebeater in most episodes.
In CBS' crime show CSI:NY, Det. Danny Messer (played by Carmine Giovinazzo) is often seen wearing a wifebeater.
Carl in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force cartoons wears a white wifebeater.
[edit] In culture
Wifebeaters are also popular in the street gang culture of the United States and Canada. From there the wearing of wifebeaters spread to hip hop culture; wifebeaters are often worn by hip hop artists in public, on stage, or in the media.The wifebeater is also considered a part of punk fashion as well since it is generally regarded as anti-fashion due to its highly informal appearance.
In the UK and Ireland, the term is occasionally used as slang for the Belgian beer Stella Artois. In British culture, Stella Artois is associated with a drinking culture in which domestic abuse may follow a bout of drinking Stella Artois at the local pub. The name Stella is also linked to the film A Streetcar Named Desire, as this is the name of Brando's beaten wife. In Australia the term specifically refers to blue Bonds singlets (also known as Shearer's singlets). Singlet that are navy blue in colour, colloquially known as "blueys" are the typical uniform of Australian manual labourers, and hold a place as a nationalist icon. See ute muster.
[edit] Opposition
Use of the term wifebeater to describe an article of clothing (as opposed to its literal use) is relatively new. The term has been denounced by the National Organization for Women, who say it trivializes domestic violence. "The implication is that wife beating is not viewed as sufficiently serious to lift it above the level of something that's OK to joke about", says Kim Gandy, president of NOW.
Among young women, a man's wifebeater worn by a woman or a specially-designed wifebeater for women is called a boybeater (sometimes also boy beater).
[edit] See also
- Sleeveless T-shirt
- Tank top
- Muscle shirt
- Anti-shirt
[edit] Sources
- A Sleeveless, Ribbed White Cotton Undershirt by Booth Moore, Press & Sun-Bulletin, January 13, 2003
