# What good are "wife-beaters"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 19, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627 "2005-05-19T20:10:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/21 "2005-05-19T22:39:08Z")
gah… that’ll teach me to compose a post, get involved on a phone call, then submit before previewing and seeing that tremorviolet already said the same thing half an hour earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/22 "2005-05-19T22:49:21Z")
> [@tremorviolet](#): > > Nope. A [muscle shirt](http://www.melsworld.homestead.com/files/Vin_Diesel___gray_muscle_shirt.jpg) is like a regular t=shirt witout sleeves. The armholes and the neckline are higher than a [wife beater’s](http://www.chicanobuilt.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/products/09.jpg). Ah I didn’t know there was that big a distinction. He wears both of those, though. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/23 "2005-05-19T23:19:45Z")
I wear button down, open collar shirts all the time, and I coordinate the color of my slacks to my T shirt in the winter, and wife beater in the summer. No other reason. ---
**Author:** ![galt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@galt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galt)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/24 "2005-05-20T00:19:26Z")
> [@I Love Me](#): > > perhaps they are useful for providing some clothing protection when it is too hot to wear a sleeved undershirt. > > Perhaps they do. But your main problem by far is still going to be your pits. I smell business opportunity: Inverse-wife-beaters that just cover the pits. New Just-The-Pits from Hanes! …has a ring to it. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/25 "2005-05-20T00:31:21Z")
It doesn’t make a very professional impression if people can see to the contours of your chest, nipples, and abdomen through your white shirt (especially if you aren’t in very good shape). But wearing an undershirt that covers your pits can make you very hot because heat exchange is a secondary function of the armpit (major blood vessels running shallow to skin that has a lot of sweat glands). Obvious solution… sleeveless T-shirt. Since air conditioning is more common, these aren’t as common as they used to be… lots of people are just going for A-style undershirts. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/26 "2005-05-20T01:35:01Z")
[QUOTE=Brain Wreck] It doesn’t make a very professional impression if people can see to the contours of your chest, nipples, and abdomen through your white shirt (especially if you aren’t in very good shape). [QUOTE] …and if you’re not wearing a necktie, it sometimes doesn’t look good to have the collar of the t-shirt showing beneat your dress shirt. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/27 "2005-05-20T02:56:41Z")
> [@Brain Wreck](#): > > It doesn’t make a very professional impression if people can see to the contours of your chest, nipples, and abdomen through your white shirt (especially if you aren’t in very good shape). I’d say that it might depend on who’s hiring you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/28 "2005-05-20T02:58:04Z")
Umm… wait a second. Your post didn’t say ANYTHING about hiring people. I guess I was thinking about how I’ve worn a little bear flag sticker to all of my recent interviews in order to (possibly) gain interest. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/29 "2005-05-20T03:00:52Z")
> [@galt](#): > > I smell business opportunity: Inverse-wife-beaters that just cover the pits. > > New Just-The-Pits from Hanes! …has a ring to it. [Too late.](http://store.advantagewearstore.com/wadrsh.html) ---
**Author:** ![kezami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eb8c5e/32.png) [@kezami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kezami)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/30 "2005-05-20T04:11:45Z")
I just want to say this is the first time I have heard the term ‘wife beater’ to describe a type of sleeveless t-shirt. I’ve been around a while but ignorant of certain pop culture slang I guess. Maybe the term is specific to the US. I don’t wear undershirts anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/31 "2005-05-20T04:16:01Z")
> [@kezami](#): > > I just want to say this is the first time I have heard the term ‘wife beater’ to describe a type of sleeveless t-shirt. I’ve been around a while but ignorant of certain pop culture slang I guess. > > Maybe the term is specific to the US. I don’t wear undershirts anyway. I had never heard the term either until I saw it used here on the SDMB. They’re called singlets in Australia. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Kenneth\_Noisewater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@Dr.Kenneth\_Noisewater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Kenneth_Noisewater)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/32 "2005-05-20T07:27:39Z")
My sweat tends to accumulate around the middle or small of my back. ---
**Author:** ![buns3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c89c15/32.png) [@buns3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buns3000)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/33 "2005-05-20T07:52:35Z")
> [@Dr. Kenneth Noisewater](#): > > My sweat tends to accumulate around the middle or small of my back. Thanks for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/34 "2005-05-20T08:34:59Z")
Men wear them to attract other men. [Cite](http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_strauss/20050518.html) :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/35 "2005-05-20T10:55:53Z")
> [@The Sausage Creature](#): > > Muscle shirts, people. They’re called muscle shirts! Sheesh, my husband wears them and I am certainly never beaten. > [@Cunctator](#): > > I always wear a singlet (which is what they’re called here in Australia). It soaks up sweat during summer and keeps me warmer during winter. I simply can’t bear the feeling of a shirt next to my skin. To add to what has been said already, in my lexicon, a **muscle shirt** has very large arm and neck holes, and the result is that more of the chest and sides of the abdomen are exposed. Indeed, a muscle shirt might have hardly any sides at all. A **singlet** or a **penny** , to me is a type of athletic jersey, made from the same soft, stretchy material as jerseys, and is worn on the playing field in contrasting colours to indicate who is a member of what team. It is a very light garment and has no sleeves or even arm holes – it’s just a strip of cloth with a neck hole. Maybe the front and the back will be attached at the bottom (with ties or snaps) to prevent it from flapping around too much during vigorous play. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/36 "2005-05-20T11:00:02Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > A **singlet** or a **penny** , to me is a type of athletic jersey, made from the same soft, stretchy material as jerseys, and is worn on the playing field in contrasting colours to indicate who is a member of what team. It is a very light garment and has no sleeves or even arm holes – it’s just a strip of cloth with a neck hole. Maybe the front and the back will be attached at the bottom (with ties or snaps) to prevent it from flapping around too much during vigorous play. Oh, and a singlet is just as likely to be worn on top of an actual jersey as not. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/37 "2005-05-20T11:24:51Z")
Speaking of athletic wear, I recall an appearance by Patrick Stewart on the David Letterman Show – it’s more than 10 years ago, soon after Letterman left N.B.C. Letterman mentioned to Stewart that he had heard that Stewart is an avid soccer player and Stewart confirmed this, saying that he takes his “boots and strip” with him wherever he goes. Letterman expressed confusion at the terms and Stewart explained “jersey and shorts,” in that order, pointing, respectively, to his chest and lap. I always assumed that Stewart slightly misspoke and that “boots” actually refers to kleated shoes. I still haven’t figured out whether a “strip” is shorts or a jersey. ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/38 "2005-05-20T11:30:25Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > A **singlet** or a **penny** , to me is a type of athletic jersey, made from the same soft, stretchy material as jerseys, and is worn on the playing field in contrasting colours to indicate who is a member of what team. It is a very light garment and has no sleeves or even arm holes – it’s just a strip of cloth with a neck hole. Maybe the front and the back will be attached at the bottom (with ties or snaps) to prevent it from flapping around too much during vigorous play. That sounds almost like a dickie. [example1](http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/jump.jsp?itemID=6973&itemType=PRODUCT&searchid=inceptor) [example2](http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/jump.jsp?itemID=7435&itemType=PRODUCT&searchid=inceptor) ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/39 "2005-05-20T12:29:08Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I still haven’t figured out whether a “strip” is shorts or a jersey. Both (plus socks). Strip = team uniform. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627/40 "2005-05-20T12:39:14Z")
> [@buns3000](#): > > Thanks for sharing. His point was the same as one I was going to make. I’m not a profusive sweater. Where I do sweat is where my back contacts my chair and car seat. A T-shirt would be much too hot for me to wear under a dress shirt. Hence, a wife-beater is a good solution. That said, 99% of my wearing of a wife beater is for comfort around the house. I think a muscle shirt makes you look like a vain dick (like that Vin Diesel pic). I’m more comfortable and cool without any sleeves on my T-shirts. Anyone who takes offense at my “dick” remark is free to criticize me for looking like a total rube in my wife-beaters. They are covered with food stains and holes, and my tan-lines are from biking t-shirts, so I have white shoulders and my tan starts half way down my biceps. I’m not sure what statement they make, but I know it isn’t “vanity”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-are-wife-beaters/304627.md?page=3)