https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/is-the-term-wife-beater-really-necessary Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Sat, 25 Apr 2026 22:54:57 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/is-the-term-wife-beater-really-necessary#post-462446 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:18:41 +0000 Amy 462446@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I heartily agree. It's an upsetting term. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/is-the-term-wife-beater-really-necessary#post-462443 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:15:47 +0000 Transcona Shannon 462443@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I absolutely DESPISE the expression - what I find hard is my 16-year-old son and his friends all call it that. I call them muscle shirts. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/is-the-term-wife-beater-really-necessary#post-462440 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:11:34 +0000 rae 462440@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yeah, I've adopted the term A-shirt - or just racerback tank - but I grew up knowing them as WBs. Especially in my neighborhood, you immediately knew what that meant: the undershirts-worn-as-shirts favored by thug-ish, aggressive males in the area. Who knows if they really beat their wives, but none of them ever objected to the term, as far as I heard. o_0 </p> <p>I understand why no one wants to feel like their style inspiration comes from an abusive or violent group, but well the stereotype is there for a reason. Aggressive guys sort of pioneered wearing men's underwear as street clothes... that said, it has been a long time, and there are so many more iterations of those tanks than the standard white. I don't think a jeweled ribbed tank in royal purple can honestly be called a WB. No need for the association there. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/is-the-term-wife-beater-really-necessary#post-462403 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:44:56 +0000 HelenInCanada 462403@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ack - I agree it is a very ugly term. I would love to banish it from existence. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/is-the-term-wife-beater-really-necessary#post-462396 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:41:29 +0000 Dashrashi 462396@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I call them "beaters." Equal opportunity like that. "Ribbed men's tank top undershirt" takes too long to say, and no one knows that they're called "A-shirts." </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/is-the-term-wife-beater-really-necessary#post-462321 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:47:14 +0000 Astrid 462321@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I know this term and I don't like it either - I totally agree with you, Una! I don't think that we have an equivalent term in German. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/is-the-term-wife-beater-really-necessary#post-462320 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:46:28 +0000 Anonymous 462320@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I've seen them called "boy beaters" on some sites, which is just as bad. Bleah. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/is-the-term-wife-beater-really-necessary#post-462318 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:45:27 +0000 catgirl 462318@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Read the review of this jacket I posted for Mo at Nordstrom:</p> <p><a href="http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/ambition-faux-leather-moto-jacket/3205653?cm_cat=datafeed&#038;cm_ite=ambition_faux_leather_moto_jacket:379209&#038;cm_pla=outerwear:women:short_jacket/coat&#038;cm_ven=bizrate&#038;mr:referralID=d70424f9-0a4a-11e1-931b-001b2166c2c0" rel="nofollow">http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/am.....1b2166c2c0</a> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/is-the-term-wife-beater-really-necessary#post-462307 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:40:09 +0000 Nakidra 462307@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I wondering what type of person is using this term? It is horrible and frankly extremely uneducated and ignorant. I've never seen it used that way Una &amp; I'm a little surprised. Weird use of a horrible term.... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/is-the-term-wife-beater-really-necessary#post-462303 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:36:51 +0000 catgirl 462303@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think it's referring to the style stereotypically being something that a guy who beats his wife would wear. There's all kinds of wacky answers about it if you google it (like it comes from the term "waif beater" in the Middle Ages...). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/is-the-term-wife-beater-really-necessary#post-462298 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:33:14 +0000 Scarlet 462298@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>That term has always bugged me. Where does it come from? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/is-the-term-wife-beater-really-necessary#post-462297 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:33:06 +0000 Jonesy 462297@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It's not possible for me to agree more :). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/is-the-term-wife-beater-really-necessary#post-462295 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:31:48 +0000 MsMary 462295@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm with you, Una! I try to have a sense of humor but it doesn't really extend to, you know, domestic violence. :-/ </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/is-the-term-wife-beater-really-necessary#post-462294 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:30:54 +0000 teri 462294@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I would agree for advertisement, but am guilty of calling it that myself. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/is-the-term-wife-beater-really-necessary#post-462286 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:24:50 +0000 catgirl 462286@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>"? </p>