According to McCauley Bowstead, this diversity is exactly what’s kept it alive, and exactly what menswear needs. With each decade, the wifebeater touched every point of the masculine spectrum - rockstar costumes, Hollywood action heroes, Compton rappers, and every bodybuilder in between. In the ‘90s, the wifebeater joined the exploding rap scene, with legendary frontmen like Tupac wearing them on repeat. Testosterone-fueled action flicks of the ‘80s (see: Die Hard) showcased leading men in wifebeaters, leaving very little bicep to the imagination. Sex symbols of ‘70s rock, like Freddie Mercury and Mick Jagger, wore wifebeaters in their famously form-fitting stage looks. Pop culture gradually normalized wearing the wifebeater by itself, by leaning into the sexuality of such a body-hugging piece. “So already, in the term ‘wifebeater,’ we have a problematic and classist elision between proletarian identity and domestic violence.” “In the term ‘wifebeater,’ we have a problematic and classist elision between proletarian identity and domestic violence.” “Men wearing tanks without a shirt were associated with working class, generally ‘non-respectable’ conditions,” said Jay McCauley Bowstead, a London-based lecturer on fashion and masculinity. Brando’s character, a blue-collar man who abuses his wife, unfortunately sealed the connection between A-shirts and violence. Four years later, the wifebeater made its first pop culture appearance, on Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire. was arrested for beating his wife to death, newspapers published his arrest photo - wearing a blood-stained A-shirt - and captioned it “The Wife Beater.” His gruesome title stuck to the garment itself, and hasn’t left since. In 1947, when Detroit man James Hartford Jr. The origin of the term “wifebeater” is exactly as horrific as it sounds. GraphicaArtis/Archive Photos/Getty Images However, for working-class men who couldn’t afford enough dress shirts to wear every day, A-shirts flew solo as a cheap alternative to simply going shirtless. It was intended as an undergarment, to keep sweat from damaging men’s dress shirts. The wifebeater, originally called the “A-shirt,” was invented in 1935 by sock company Cooper’s Inc. How has such a hot-button garment managed to survive through generations, without any visible change? Pop culture cameos and fashion subcultures, from Marlon Brando to queer disco, have transformed the wifebeater into an intersectional symbol - and satire - of masculinity. The cheap undergarment was first associated with classism and domestic violence, but has since spiraled into an ironic piece with a costume-esque level of camp. The white ribbed tank has been a staple in menswear for nearly a century, and it’s picked up plenty of stereotypes along the way. Inside or outside the fashion lexicon, it’s hard to think of a term more cringe-worthy than “wifebeater.” So why are we still saying it, let alone wearing it?
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