Why do they call those shirts wife beaters?

Answer 1

I don't know. Maybe some guys on tv shows/movies where those and beat there wives?

Answer 2

I think we should have a petition to change that name "wife beaters" to another name. Like they are trying to change the Redskins name. I absolutely hate the name "wife beaters" for a shirt. It sounds tacky. Plus it doesn't make any sense. Change the name! Take it to Congress!

Answer 3

Usually people that wear the "wife beater" t-shirts wear them under their construction outfits like overalls and such. They wear them cause they are comfortable and they are usually in hard labor woking jobs where it is hot. Not all people that where those are wife beaters. They wear them because its hot with overalls on when you are welding or in the belly of a ship where there is no airflow and it is sweltering heat. The little t shirts that are sleevless give a little relief to labor workers in those types of jobs.
Now how the term was dubbed wifebeater is another story. I think it all started with the invention of the TV show COPS.
99.9% of the people on there wear those shirts...They are really cheap also i might add. All of the domestic dispute cases on COPS or in mugshots that you see where people are getting arrested for hitting their loved one wore those shirts.

Answer 4

If you typed in "wife beaters" in the Search for Questions you could've saved yourself 5 points!!

I just don't know why people don't try that first! That is such an Answers pet peeve of mine!!!!!!!!!

I answered the same question once before and it went like this:

They are the ribbed sleeveless undershirt.
Wife Beater, I guess is a term used for "Red Neck" and you always see the red necks wearing them alone... not as an undershirt.

From Wikipedia: Go to their website, they have a picture of one.
A sleeveless shirt is, as the name suggests, a shirt manufactured without sleeves, or one where the sleeves have been cut off. Sleeveless shirts can be worn by either gender, depending on the style. Examples of sleeveless shirts include tank tops, muscle shirts, A-shirts, and other similar shirts

Source(s):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/tank_top...

Answer 5

Phlygirl was right,You were talking about Sleeveless or the tank top shirts.They are also called A-shirts.Now to answer your question,the term wife beaters originates from frequent depictions in popular culture of aggressive American men, usually living in poor conditions (such as living in a trailer) and having low income, beating their wives and/or children while clad in this shirt. Such people are also known as 'trailer trash'.

Answer 6

Wifebeater
Also known as A-shirts, they are usually worn by men, although sometimes worn by women (in which case they may be known as boy beaters). They are generally made for use as underwear, and generally have large sleeve holes and a large neck, down to near the chest. The term originates from frequent depictions in popular culture of aggressive American men, usually living in poor conditions (such as living in a trailer) and having low income, beating their wives and/or children while clad in this shirt. Such people are aslo known as 'trailer trash'. Levi's advertisements frequently have the models wearing nothing but wifebeaters and jeans

Answer 7

Wifebeater
Also known as A-shirts, they are usually worn by men, although sometimes worn by women (in which case they may be known as boy beaters). They are generally made for use as underwear, and generally have large sleeve holes and a large neck, down to near the chest. The term originates from frequent depictions in popular culture of aggressive American men, usually living in poor conditions (such as living in a trailer) and having low income, beating their wives and/or children while clad in this shirt. Levi's advertisements frequently have the models wearing nothing but wifebeaters and jeans.

Answer 8

A-shirts get a bad reputation from hot-tempered men in movies and plays such as Streetcar named Desire, when Marlon Brando wore one. In old days, without much A/C, these were worn to cool off by many lower-class men who were looked upon with disdain by middle-class, and others. Typical late night police calls for domestic disturbances would result in pictures in tabloids of these men being hauled off to precinct in the A-shirt...

Answer 9

They call them wife beaters because, back in the "olden" days, men would always beat their wives, and they would wear those shirts that are call - ""wife beaters""

Answer 10

Because trailer trash wife beaters wear them.

Answer 11

Cause billy bob down at the trailer park used to come out wearing a white tank top after disciplining his wife on a regular basis.