I think wife beaters are usually white. I like the black ones.

So what are they called? Just curious.

Remember in the 80s we wore two in day glo colors? Were we calling those dago tees?

Tank tops.

And I think Hanes sells it as...shoot, it uses the letter A but all I can think of is A-line and that's a skirt, not a shirt!

They call it A-shirt. I call them tanks.

Tank tops.

That's what I've always called them, regardless of color. I'm not sure if it's a military thing.

Tank tops were worn in swimming tanks, irrc, not driving around and shooting tanks. A Shirts meant "athletic".

This is all somewhere on Wikipedia.

I actually enjoy seeing a guy with good shoulders wearing one of these.

Tony Stark, baby.

And, uh, okay, I'm a little biased.

I don't remember what I used to call them, but I do remember the double day glo look. I also like the black-sleeveless-over-gray-tee look they used on BSG. And I see plenty of men who wear them as undershirts, at which point I think of them as "undershirts."

But frankly, I agree with laga that it's probably the term I'm most likely to think of when thinking of the garment as a garment, and I don't really have a problem with that either. I don't beat my SO when I have one, I don't think beating one's SO is funny, and I try very hard not to let any prejudices I may have about a shirt interfere with my ability to judge a person as an individual. So since I feel pretty secure with myself in regards to that, I think I'm going to continue to feel secure in my usage of the term "wife beater."

And yeah, I'd say that the idea of women in wife beaters is pretty hot.

But frankly, I agree with laga that it's probably the term I'm most likely to think of when thinking of the garment alone, and I don't really have a problem with that either. I don't beat my SO when I have one, I don't think beating one's SO is funny, and I try very hard not to let any prejudices I may have about a shirt interfere with my ability to judge a person as an individual. So since I feel pretty secure with myself in regards to that, I think I'm going to continue to feel secure in my usage of the term "wife beater."

Seriously? How do you feel about "jewed him down"? I mean, assuming you don't hate Jews? Or "gyped"?

And please don't tell me what you call Brazil nuts.

t edit I mean, what you're saying is "I know the term is associated with and in many cases can be read as supporting domestic violence, but *I* don't mean it like that, so it's okay, no matter how it sounds to other people when I use it."

To me, that's very problematic.

I feel like tank tops are more substantial and not intended to be undershirts. Maybe I'll start calling these tank undershirts.

Steph, I thought I was getting het up about this, but you're waaaaaay out of line jumping to flat out calling me a racist. Back the truck up.

H has always called them "A-shirts," as opposed to "T-shirts," which were originally called T-shirts because of the shape of the garment laid flat, with the sticky-out short sleeves. It follows that a shirt made with scooped-out armholes could logically be called an "A" shirt, if you squint.

Muscle shirts were originally tees, or usually sweatshirts, with the sleeves ripped away to show off the shoulders and biceps. Often, the sleeves were more neatly cut. Manufacturers took note and quickly profitted by making sleeveless t-shirts, no need for ravelly ripped or cut-out sleeves.

Heh, momentary distracton = inevitable Xpost.