wifebeaters Re: Closets and Wardrobes

[mskeshaffer]

> Ali:
> What can I say?  We're a strange bunch, us 20-somethings (I'm 25).
> The term wifebeater, by the time it got to us, had lost all
> ethnic/whatever connotation.  It's still considered 
somewhat "redneck"
> (a la King of the Hills for those who watch American TV) but not
> offensive.  Probably none of us have ever thought about the term and
> why it's called such, so we generally don't think of it as 
offensive -
> gross generalization, yes, but also mostly true.
> 
> To be honest, I'm fascinated by this whole conversation since, as
> stated, people my age wear wifebeaters.  I graduated from an Ivy
> League Uni with some seriously old money folks, and the girls in my
> class (and I admit I did it on rare occasions) spent a goodly amount
> of money on their designer wifebeaters (whereupon they would also be
> called tank tops because such a term is acceptable for a female).
> It's true that they're generally worn layered so it's not always a
> "plain tee over jeans" type of situation, but I don't think anyone
> considered it lower class or uncouth.
> 
> ~Ali

I think that this is probably a generational thing.  I'm 43, and 
you're right- I think it has lost its negative connotation as the 
years went by.  They were definitely trailer-trash apparel when I was 
your age.  Funny how the name stuck, though!
Martha