Why are those t-shirts called Wife Beaters?

I hope everything goes well with the hospital visit! I know you'll be fine though. Are you nervous? I hate hospitals. How long will you be there? Will you be able to keep us updated on a2k while you're there?
Good Luck! Remember that you've got a bunch of people rooting for you here. Including that crazy kid, Gracie! Haha!

Thanks, I like the 'kid' thing, my dad calls me that too sometimes.

Oh! And whenever you need a pep talk I'm here and I give fantastic advice!

~Gracie~

You do realize that you are speaking to someone who has more than four times the life experience that you have, right? Some people might find your comment to be extremely disrespectful.

I think you'd be a great member of Roberta's pep squad. We'll all squeeze together and make some room for you on the bleachers.

Oh gosh hawkeye, would you give it a rest already?! Please leave me alone and butt out. Why do you have to turn something nice into a mean thing? You know that I wasn't being 'disrespectful' when I said that. What's your problem? Oh wait, I dont care. Just get over it already! You're really starting to annoy me. If you haven't gotten the hint yet, I'll just make it obvious for you. You Are Annoying. You're negative, insulting and mean and I don't like it. You need to mind your own business and it would be great if you kept your negative comments to yourself. Do ya get it now?

Roberta, I'm sorry If what I said earlier about me giving you pep talks and advice was offensive to you. I didn't mean it that way. I was trying to be nice and let you know that I cared and I wanna help in any way I can, ok? That's all I meant by it.

I think I'm done for the night. Able2know just isn't fun anymore.

Haha! Thanks Butrflynet! Id definitely wanna be a memeber of the squad! Count me in!!

A2k is more interesting than fun, though fun happens.
Do not expect everyone on a world site to always agree or be charmed with your posts.
The butterfly cuteness will wear off.
You are doing well here, gracie, and are respected.
But you quail at a mild remonstrance from Roberta?
Very mild, she can do better.

That's wrong, too. If you don't watch it, you're in no position to criticize. After you've seen it, it's okay, especially if you know why it wasn't good.

It wasn't my intention to sidetrack this underwear thread. Just throwing in a comment about black and white movies.

Gracie, I wasn't offended by your remarks. I know you were well intentioned. I have to warn you that I don't take kindly to advice. I think I made it clear on Hamilton's king thread that I don't like to be told what to do. EVER. However, I try to take kindly advice with a grain of salt. For the biopsy, I won't have to stay overnight at the hospital. And if I have to surgery, a friend of mine posts on the surgery thread to let everyone know how I'm doing.

Osso, Did I toss a gentle remonstrance Gracie's way? Don't remember. Not thinking clearly these days.

Hawkeye, I think Gracie's comments weren't intended to be disrespectful. But I can see how you might view things that way. Am I inclined to take advice from someone very much younger than me? Probably no more or less than I'm inclined to take advice from anybody. But then again, it depends on what the advice is

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Now back to underwear. I said earlier that none of the men in my family ever beat up anybody. Remembered that this is not exactly true. None of them was a wife beater, but my beloved Grandpa did beat up somebody. Long story. Family lore kinda thing, involving bigotry.

Grandpa in his wife beater undershirt and me at about the age of four:

Fair enough..but I think expertise in the subject matter is very important....when it comes to life advise from a teenager is worthless..they have not lived enough to have the first clue WTF they are talking about, and they should know better than to pretend that they do. Where the **** are this girls parents that she is such a brat at her age I'd like to know....this should have been beat out of her many years ago. I have three kids, no way do I let them behave as she does.

I don't think Gracie is a brat. I think she's a teenager with a teenager's perspective.

I don't think anybody should beat anything out of their kids.

I'm not looking to get into a dispute with you. If you don't like the way Gracie behaves or what she says, why not put her on ignore.

I belive that the ignore function is an a violation of democratic society, and I do not suffer fools lightly.....

Are you being serious? You are proof that living a bit longer doesn't automatically make you any wiser. Despite Gracie only being 13, I would take her advice over yours any day.

Same shirt in blue is standard wear for many in the working class of Australia. The original "Jackie Howe" is the same, though looser, and was the standard uniform for the sheep shearer. Prolly still is, though I can't confirm that.

There is no negative connotation attached to such attire in Australia.

There's no negative association in the United States, either. The term "wife beater" is not, in my experience, in common use.

Actually it is. As soon as I saw the term being discussed, I knew what was meant. It's all too common; however, I believe that it isn't common to you. My thoughts were of De Niro in Raging Bull and Brando in Streetcar Named Desire.

Hawkeye...IMHO, it's your behavior that is reprehensible. The way I see this is that it's your attack of Gracie that is repulsive and smacks of your own immaturity. The fact you suggest child-beating because of behavior which you deem in your mind as 'being a brat' reveals a level of mean-spiritedness beyond belief. She isn't the brat - you are! Personally, when someone isn't my cup of tea - especially if their a child of 13 - I just don't bother to comment. Where the hell is your self-control?!

Furthermore ...
How is your putting someone on ignore any violation of anything democratic? You control YOUR own computer. You're not causing anyone else to ignore when you set your controls to ignore on your own computer. How is that un-democratic at all?

De Niro and Brando are not proof that the term is in common use in the United States--sorry to burst your bubble.

As for that clown Chicken Little (who calls himself hawkeye), he thinks the ignore feature is undemocratic because in his loony world, free speech means that everyone has to listen to him.

Firstly, I said that's what reminds me of the image. That wasn't meant as bona fide proof. The item of clothing is a common wardrobe item in certain popular movies seen by a great deal of the public and displays a character of a man who practices violence. That type of t- shirt is often worn by such a character. Feel free to disageree as you wish, but if you'd ask 100 people about it, I'd venture to say the majority would know what the term wife-beater is.

However, in the case of De Niro and his character in Raging Bull it most definiterly IS a story of a wife-beater. Apparently, you arent familiar with the story.

Still means Stella Artois over here. I'd never heard of the phrase being attached to clothing until I came across this thread.

Here's an excerpt from Wiki (as an example of public of commonly used definitions) of sleeveless under-shirt:

"Sleeveless T-shirt: A sleeveless T-shirt, also called a muscle shirt and colloquially called a shooter shirt by basketball players, is the same design as a T-shirt, but without sleeves. They are primarily worn by men since the large open sleeve holes would expose the female breast under certain circumstances. They are often worn for/during athletic activities. They were quite popular in the 1980s and were stereotypically associated with surfers and body-builders (hence the name "muscle" shirt) who often bore the logo of their gyms on these shirts. Also called "Tenement T-shirt"."

FWIW, Wiki re-directs the term wife-beater shirt to this definition.

I'm in USA so my connotation is derived being a 61-yr-old male from here. I think it's perhaps a product of an (over-the-hill) US-culture. Hell maybe it's because I'm seeing this as a 60-yr-old American that I see it as common? Not sure.

Furthermore, a 13-yr-old girl has heard the term..so it must be in fairly wide circulation...after all!

Sorry. I know that Stella Artois is a beer. Please explain how is that connected?