What are ‘wife pleasers’? TikTok fashion influencers are rebranding white tank tops
Young fashion influencers on TikTok are rebranding white tank tops and undershirts as “wife pleasers” to challenge the previous name’s association with domestic violence.
The ribbed white tank tops, previously called “wife beaters,” have a pretty violent history and presence in pop culture but are coming back into style again. Both men and women on the platform are opting for gentler alternatives to the name, which aligns with how the platform has operated in the past when it comes to graphic, violent language.
“Wife pleasers and button ups all summer long,” teenage influencer Eric Benavides (@ericbuenavides) captioned a recent video displaying the trend.
“Pleasers? i like that,” commented @idkwhoyasmineis.
Where did the term ‘wife beaters’ come from?
A 2018 The New York Times op-ed explains that using the term “wife beaters” to describe the white, undershirt tank top is often associated with the character Stanley Kowalski in the movie A Streetcar Named Desire. The character wore the shirt while committing horrific acts of violence, including hitting his wife and raping his sister-in-law.
The New York Times also notes that although there is no evidence of the case, lore claims that in 1947, a man from Detroit beat his wife to death and photos were snapped of him wearing the stained shirt with the caption “The Wife Beater.”
Mel Magazine also claims the term and shirt could have originated as a stereotype associated with American immigrants in the early 1900s, who often wore undershirts at home to save their limited work clothes from getting dirty.
Of course, domestic violence has no “look” or “uniform,” and because the “wife beater” shirt became such a commonplace phrase in the American vernacular, younger generations are now pushing back against the term — and altogether rebranding it.
The 2018 New York Times oped noted the dangers of associating domestic violence with a common phrase and how harmful that could be to “normalizing” misogyny and violence. “The willingness to casually evoke violence against women implies a strange double standard,” the author wrote.
Rebranding to ‘wife pleasers’
Now, in an effort to bring more voices to survivors of domestic abuse post #MeToo and strip any casual connotations of violence away, TikTokers are leading the charge by just-as-casually renaming the white tank as a “wife pleaser.”
For instance, Jace Martinez (@jacemarteez9), a “positive role model” influencer, posted a TikTok tutorial showing how he styles his wife pleaser by tucking it into his vintage-inspired Levi jeans.
“That’s a provider, that’s someone who’s gonna take care of you,” Martinez said in the video.
Kara (@save.the.mf.bees) also shared a TikTok casually describing a shorter and thicker version of the white tank top as a wife pleaser that people can wear without a bra for those who so choose.
Her comment section has over 160 comments, and only a few even found the phrase noteworthy enough to point out, while the others seemed to accept it as casually as the previously used term was.
“My favorite top ever she’s perf,” said @rileyoneil111 of the tank top.
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