A "wifebeater" anecdote

[snow15145]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Carol" <justcarol67 at ...> 
wrote:
>
> In the interests of research, I related my copyediting dilemma to 
the
> twenty-something assistant manager of my apartment complex and asked
> if she could suggest any alternatives for readers in her age group 
to
> the term "wifebeater." After listening sympathetically and giving 
the
> matter a bit of thought, she suggested "muscle shirt."
> 
> A few minutes later, having paid my rent and deposited my paycheck 
in
> the wrong order, I was standing in line at the grocery store, 
waiting
> for the young man ahead of me to return empty-handed after looking 
for
> an item he'd forgotten that the store was out of.
> 
> He apologized politely for making me wait and I said I didn't mind,
> and then I realized what he was wearing--a grey, ribbed sleeveless,
> scoop-necked shirt that I would call a tank top. He looked like a
> college student, maybe twenty, but he had to be slightly older since
> he was buying beer.
> 
> Gathering my courage, I said, "Excuse me. What would you call the
> shirt you're wearing?"
> 
> He looked a bit surprised and slightly amused by the question and 
said
> tentatively, "Do you really want to know?"
> 
> I lowered my voice, made sure that no one could hear me except the
> young man, his male friend of the same age (who was wearing a black
> T-shirt), and the grocery clerk, a woman of about 
fifty. "Wifebeater?"
> I asked.
> 
> Again, he looked surprised. I explained why I was asking, and he 
said,
> "Well, it's an A-shirt."
> 
> His friend piped up with, "Call it a 'wifebeater.'"
> 
> I must have looked distressed because he added, "Or a 'WB.'"
> 
> "Would readers know what that meant?" I asked.
> 
> He nodded.
> 
> I said, "What about 'tank' or 'muscle shirt'?"
> 
> "Tank top," the first young man said.
> 
> "Tank tops aren't just for women?"
> 
> "Tank top," he repeated.
> 
> "I'm glad to know that they come in gray," I said and lowered my 
voice
> to a whisper. "'Black wifebeater' doesn't sound right."
> 
> The young men, who had finished buying their groceries and loading
> them in the cart, roared with laughter and continued laughing as 
they
> left the store.
> 
> The grocery clerk said. "Wait till they have a couple of beers
> tonight. You're going to be the topic of conversation all night 
long."
> 
> Which is undoubtedly true. I don't think they even need the beer.
> 
> Still, though, the first young man did hesitate to tell me, sensing
> either from my age or my sex or the combination that I might find 
the
> term offensive.
> 
> Carol, who will give the reasons for her concern, suggest "tank top"
> and "muscle shirt" as possible alternatives, and leave the decision 
up
> to the client

Snow:

I absolutely loved your grocery-line conversation (I have had quite a 
few interesting dialogs myself in line; the younger generation are 
great when you promote them to express themselves). 

Before you come to your final decision with your client, I would just 
like to add a conversation I had with my fifteen year old daughter, 
who attends a very diverse school in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. I 
asked her if she had ever heard of a wifebeater shirt and her answer 
was no. She then went on to say that they wear `beaters though that 
are usually black or white worn under another shirt (when at school, 
since tees are not allowed). Her analogy was that the `beater to a 
boy is the equivalent of a cami for a girl. When asked what type of 
person usually wears them, she said that the majority was the bad 
crowd. 

[My daughter's school has been in the local news several times this 
year for what they would like to refer to as neighborhood issues and 
not gang violence. More than several teachers have been hurt in two 
separate occasions that made it as far as the local media.]

If the author of this book is attempting to portrait a type of person 
by the clothing style they wear, she might not want to veer too far 
from the wording she chose to use. I would propose that she use the 
word `beater which would suggest the offensive prefix `wife' but 
still allow the descriptive word that her younger audience has 
already adopted (`beater). 

Snow