Gen Z loves the ‘wife beater’ singlet – but they’re cancelling the name

It’s a clothing style popular among everyone from tradies to A-listers – but one generation is calling to do away with its archaic name.

The “wife beater” is cancelled – along with blonde hair, skinny jeans, thumbs-up emojis and everything else Gen Z has declared uncool or “cheugy”.

Not the actual article of clothing itself, of course – the sleeveless white tee, or singlet, once widely associated with the stereotypical blue-collar male and immortalised in pop culture by Marlon Brando in 1951’s A Streetcar Named Desire, is hotter than ever with the younger generation, the New York Post reports.

It can even be spotted being worn by celebrities, like The Bear actor Jeremy Allen White.

Just don’t call it, well, you know.

Canadian singer Shawn Mendes. Picture: Gotham/GC Images

While the origins of the controversial moniker are unconfirmed, sources cite a 1947 murder case involving a Detroit, Michigan, man who was arrested for beating his wife to death and who was photographed wearing the infamous top.

These days, the so-called kinder, gentler generation has come up with a new name for the controversial classic: “wife pleaser”.

On TikTok, #wifepleaser boasts more than 11.4 million views, while #wifepleasertank has racked up 13.9 million. Trendsetters on the app rejoice at the arrival of “wife pleaser” summer, flaunting the wardrobe staple in viral “fit checks” and excitedly reviewing the “best brands” on the market.

“We all grew up hearing the term ‘wife beater’, and we understand why a hundred years ago that name would have made perfect sense,” popular Gen Z fashion influencer Jace Martinez, 24, told The Post.

“But in 2023, it doesn’t sit right with a lot of people to casually throw around the term … in a culture that no longer normalises domestic violence.”

The style was first popularised by Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Thanks to TikTok, there has been a mass adoption of the term 'wife pleaser' in an attempt to rebrand the tank. Picture: iStock

The rehabilitation of the undergarment’s image comes in the wake of #MeToo – the viral moment sparked by assault allegations against now-disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Multiple alternatives to “wife beater” have been offered up in recent years – The Simpsons once used the term “wife blesser”, while Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness dubbed it a “wife lover” – but none really stuck until now.

“‘Wife pleaser’ has become a pretty common term among TikTok users who discuss men’s fashion and style topics,” Martinez, who is from Texas, said.

“It’s kind of hard to avoid, given that the white undershirt is where a lot of outfits begin.”

AFL star Bailey Smith in a photo-shoot for Cotton On. Picture: Supplied

And while the overwhelming majority of fashion-forward TikTok users agree on the idea of the rebrand, some are pushing back on the term “wife pleaser”, calling it “cringe”. Others ask if a simple “undershirt” or “tank top” wouldn’t suffice.

“Whoever woke up one day and decided, ‘Oh yes, let’s replace wife beater with the term wife pleaser’, and didn’t think it was just gonna be the grossest, most ickiest terminology for a tank top in the world was sick in the head,” New York content creator Sara Feigin fumed in a TikTok video.

Fellow online influencer Xander Torres, who boasts more than 182,800 followers intrigued by his styling videos, regularly refers to the undershirts as “wife pleasers”. He said he receives pushback from a “vocal minority of incels and virgins”, who prefer the original term, but he’s also not bothered by it.

“If you think ‘wife pleaser’ is corny or cheesy and you’d rather say ‘tank top’, then fine, say ‘tank top’,” he said in one of his viral clips.

“I’m not the word police. I don’t care.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission