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Tuesday, December 10, 2002

By LaMont Jones, Post-Gazette Fashion Editor

Always, fashion is style and necessity. Often, it is controversy.

And it is the controversy that most often provides fashion's biggest headlines. Gone but not forgotten are Madonna's bullet bras, courtesy of Jean Paul Gaultier, and J Lo's scandalous green Versace dress. Ever present are increasingly sexual push-the-envelope advertising images and the irreconcilable differences between those who wear fur and those who insist that they desist.

The latest fashion news to generate debate is the possibility that the term "wife beater" may get an additional definition in the next edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. The term clearly refers to a husband who physically abuses his spouse, but those oblivious to constantly evolving fashion jargon may not know that it also is a common descriptor for tank top, sleeveless undershirts, usually white and ribbed.

"Wife beater" as fashion lingo grew out of the slovenly appearance and barbaric demeanor of pot-bellied, alcohol-chugging, middle-aged Neanderthals who wore the garment while doing what the term implies, whether in Hollywood images or on the evening news. The term became much more widely used as the hip-hop generation adopted and adapted it as fashion language, fairly free of its original low-life connotation.

Today, "wife beater" is the most common term to describe that article of clothing now worn by people regardless of gender, age or ethnic background. In fact, beloved actor Denzel Washington is wearing one in his recent photograph as one of GQ magazine's 2002 men of the year.

"Wife beater" as fashion descriptor offends people such as NOW president Kim Gandy, who contends that it trivializes domestic violence. Not only that, the slang use has managed to strip the term of its deservedly negative connotation and moved it to the more benign realm of political correctness.

So it's no surprise that opponents are already forming a line to criticize and perhaps block the dictionary's addition of the fashion-related definition.

But the folks at the Oxford English Dictionary wouldn't be doing their jobs if they decided against adding it. A dictionary is a barometer of where society is at a given point in time. Its role is not to judge terminology based on personal preference or public opinion but to reflect and record the language of the culture, popular and otherwise.

Everyone can point to words in the dictionary that they personally find despicable and unutterable, yet those terms and their definitions belong there precisely because they have use and meaning.

As far as "wife beater" is concerned, the deal is done. By our widespread use and acceptance of "wife beater" as fashion terminology, the American public has already given its assent to what decision-makers at the Oxford English Dictionary will likely do.

At this point, the most productive thing we can do is give serious thought to why we don't take ugly words or behavior seriously enough to prevent them from becoming widely acceptable in the first place.