The Wife - Beater- Gayle Rosenwald Smith

 The Wife - Beater- Gayle Rosenwald Smith

Smith shows the modern days fashion sense and relates it to the issue of domestic violence. She is astonished at a business strategy that promotes domestic abuse. She claims wearer under 25 does not get disturbed by the logo "The Wife- Beater" but she is surely very much disturbed seeing people flaunting style that promotes domestic violence. The T-shirt carries a stereotypical harmful message. That's why she is disturbed. She seems to be worried about its influence over normal youngsters. Her concern is justified throughout her writing as she keeps making sense with the meaning of wife-beater and statistics of women violence. The term is being used so lightly. Her major concern is to inform the wearer below the age of 25 about the impact of the term and activities like wife-beater. 

The name alone is not the issue for Smith but the name worries her a lot which she has mentioned explicitly in paragraphs 3 and 11 because it represents the male dominace where physical abuse is acceptable as a means of control. It is indeed a fatal concept transmitted to the young generation in the form of a fashion statement. Despite contradictory statements, she makes sense.

The name of a sleeveless undershirt and the prevalence of family violence are interconnected. The popularity of such fashion statement depicts the abusive nature of the male. The prevalence of domestic violence is the cause and the name of the shirt is the effect.

Smith remarks the shirt can make both men and women look sexier. Despite this statement, her argument is not weak. This remark doesn't undercut her credibility. The statement is a pleasant switch from the serious tone. 

According to Smith, a shirt with a logo wife-beater teaches women the wrong thing about men. The line remarks men as a manly person equal to violence. The women felt guys look great in the shirt and associate it with the manly personality. 

She likely expects her audience to be intrigued, wondering what Smith will be talking about in the rest of her essay.

Smith's main purpose in this essay is to discuss the problematic nature of the name "wife-beater" and to push for a different name. She also intends to convince the reader to examine the link society has established between masculinity and dominance/violence and to challenge that association.

These remarks seem to be directed at wearers under 25, since she sees this group as most in need of considering her ideas. Her essay is not targeted only at those who wear the shirts, but a more general audience; the name can be used by those not wearing the shirts as well.

The name "wife-beater", in reference to the popular style of sleeveless shirt, makes light of domestic abuse and reinforces the link between violence and masculinity.

She is making sure that the reader is aware of how present these shirts are in our lives. This is so the reader is aware that the type of tank she is referencing is not something ultra-specific only worn by niche groups of people. This makes the fact that the shirt has such a strange name come as more of a surprise.

She includes this definition in part to show how prevalent this term as become and also to show the contrast between the two definitions. Providing the first dictionary definition-- "A man who physically abuses his wife" -- is a reminder to the reader that this term is also a blatant reference to physical violence.

Smith goes over the history of the wife-beater in paragraphs 8-10. This information is necessary in making sense of how this term rose to prevalence in our vocabulary; without a background, it is hard to imagine how it would have become so popular.

Smith includes statistics in paragraph 13. Smith wants the reader to understand that domestic violence is still a serious issue, and these statistics help to make Smith's point.

Vocabulary Projects

1.resurgence: increase in relevance after a period of lesser popularity

gusto: enthusiasm

toxic: harmful

accentuated: made more prominent

per se: in and of itself

connoting: implying a consequence or condition

Vocabulary Projects

2.This shirt could be referred to as simply as a white sleeveless shirt, or as a ribbed tank.

3.For this exercise, you will need to look up the term "wife-beater" in several different online dictionaries. As you do, keep an eye out for differences between different sources. Do all of them include the definition that references the style of shirt?

Vocabulary Projects

2.This shirt could be referred to as simply as a white sleeveless shirt, or as a ribbed tank.

3.For this exercise, you will need to look up the term "wife-beater" in several different online dictionaries. As you do, keep an eye out for differences between different sources. Do all of them include the definition that references the style of shirt?

Journal Entry

1.

Writing Workshop

1.For this essay, you will need to start by choosing an article of clothing that is key to your wardrobe. You might choose something like graphic tees, jeans, turtleneck sweaters, or tennis shoes. Once you have chosen your subject, you will need to research the item's history and the origin of its name. For example, if you chose sneakers, you could talk about how the term came from how quiet the soles were on the ground, or how they have evolved from being popular among sportsmen to popular for daily wear.

2.To start this essay, first choose an article of clothing that you and your parents might view differently. Current fashion trends are a great source of inspiration for this; take the "athleisure" trend for instance. While your parents might see athleticwear as just for exercise, you and your peers may find it appropriate for many situations. Choose a few points of comparison for the article of clothing you choose; you may want to talk about what groups of people tend to wear the clothing (young, old, wealthy, etc.) where the clothing is worn, etc.1 

3.For this essay, you will need to select an article of clothing that is commonly worn among those in a group you identify with. For example, if you are Jewish, you might wish to write about the significance of the yarmulke. In your essay, write about the article of clothing's history as well as how it is incorporated into your life.

Combining the Patterns

1.Focusing on the cause-and-effect relationship between the "wife-beater" shirt and domestic violence would have strengthened Smith's essay a great deal. She talks a lot about the two separately, but does not provide much information to connect the two. It would have been helpful if she explained how victims of violence might feel when hearing this term, or, conversely, how the prevalence of domestic violence plays in to the term's popularity.