wifebeaters (Was: Closets and Wardrobes)

[Carol]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "mskeshaffer"
<mskeshaffer at ...> wrote:
>
> Here is a pictureof a "wifebeater"
> http://www.hanes.com/Hanes/Products/Men-Hanes/Men_ShopByCategory-
> Hanes/Men_Tshirts-Hanes/Men_Tshirts_Bestsellers-Hanes/H7996.aspx
> 
> I always thought the term was mildly derogatory.  Those that wear 
> this as outerwear probably use  the term with pride, but most of us 
> see the use of this shirt (alone, not as an undergarment) as a style 
> common of lower class, perhaps "trailer trash", where education is 
> minimal and domestic disputes prevalent.  I have only seen them in 
> white.  For  what its worth, I am from California.

Carol reponds:

I can't get the link to work even by cutting and pasting the second
part, but here's what I found when I did a quick search using "Hanes
wifebeater" (no quotation marks) as my search term:

http://www.bobfromaccounting.com/2_25_02/wifebeaterarticle.html

"Mesh Shirt named Official Undergarment of Domestic Violence"!

And "mildly derogatory" doesn't seem sufficient or even applicable
given that shirts are being *marketed* using this term.

I haven't come to any conclusion yet, but I appreciate everyone's
responses and hope to see more.

Carol, noting that the characters in this manuscript are not trailer
trash and live in Florida