Wife Beater T-shirts: Misogyny or Comedy?

James Doolin of Dallas, Texas, is marketing a product he thinks is funny---but women across the United States are far from laughing. The 30 year old online entrepreneur is hawking a line of T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “Wife Beater”. The shirt comes in a variety of styles and sizes, including some called “Lil Beaters” for toddlers and children.

His website at www.wife-beaters.com features a buxom blonde being spanked by Mr. Doolin, while the Prodigy tune “Smack My Bitch Up” plays in the background. It also has a hall of fame featuring celebrity wife beaters, and a special offer for men who have been convicted of the crime of wife beating---show proof of your run in with the law, and a second shirt can be had for 50% off.

Mr. Doolin admits he gets about 80 e mails and 20 phone calls a day from people irate over his product, but he remains non-plussed. He thinks the shirts are humorous and wonders why people don’t get the joke. Heck, he has even added the option of purchasing the shirts with some funny designer add-ons---cigarette holes, beer stains, motor-oil splotches, and blood.

Apparently the sleeveless, tight-fitting tanks have been dubbed “wife beaters” because they seem to be the style most worn by men arrested for battering on the popular TV show “Cops”. The phrase has crept into the language of popular culture, and Mr. Doolin says he is just cashing in on a popular cultural trend. In a recent interview published in “USA Today” he stated he had no intention of shutting down his website, unless someone bought it from him for a substantial price. The controversy surrounding his business, which he attributes to “feminists” is a positive thing in his eyes---it generates free publicity for him. He only wishes the story would be picked up by MTV, because they have a big market share of teens and college age guys, whom he admits is the target market for his shirts.

Many groups, feminist and otherwise, have been swift to respond to Mr. Doolin’s product and marketing strategy, and launch campaigns aimed at shutting down his website and putting him out of business. A non-profit, national organization called “Dads and Daughters” (www.dadsanddaughters.org) is one of them. They are an organization that works to overcome the pervasive media image that girls are valued for their looks, and not for who they are. They regularly organize campaigns against marketers who undermine girls to sell their products, and praise those who don't. In the past they convinced Campbell's Soup to drop a TV ad marketing soups to pre-adolescent girls as a diet aid, praised Chevy Truck's positive portrayal of a father-daughter relationship in a TV ad, and led a national protest against Simon & Schuster’s Interactive CD-ROM game Panty Raider.

Offended by Wife Beater T-shirts and concerned about the message they convey about violence against women, they have called for the manufacturer to stop providing the shirts for sale, and wrote a letter to Wife Beaters asking that they cease their business. They have also asked the media and Congress to assist them in their campaign efforts against Mr. Doolin. Executive director of the group, Joe Kelly said, “Wife-Beater must immediately stop selling these shirts. They convey a woeful lack of understanding about the horrendous price our families -- especially our children -- pay for domestic violence.”

And what a price it is! According to statistics released by the U.S. Department of Justice, (http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/172837.txt) approximately 1 million women are stalked each year, and an estimated 1.9 million are battered. About one-third of homicides committed annually are women killed by an intimate partner.

Battering is a painful, degrading, and life-scarring experience for victims. Besides the numerous physical injuries they suffer, many women also battle depression, and have symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They suffer economically from lost days of work, lost jobs, and homelessness, if they survive the attempt to leave. They also bear the cost of legal fees when it necessary to obtain restraining orders or consult with lawyers to protect them and their children. Victims are often alienated from friends and family that are fearful of getting involved. Many women feel abandoned and have difficulties in bonding with and trusting others. Children that witness battering may develop emotional problems as well. Many go on to be batterers themselves, or find themselves in abusive relationships as adults.

Domestic violence is a huge and costly social problem. It requires countless man hours and staggering amounts of money to fund and run domestic violence hotlines, women’s shelters, family counseling and legal aid services. It creates a large backlog of criminal and civil cases in courts across the country. It puts at risk thousands of police officers that answer domestic violence calls. Studies have shown that officers are most likely to be shot and/or killed in the line of duty when they go to homes when violent disputes between intimate partners is in progress.

In light of all that, how can Mr. Doolin claim that the message his shirts send is humorous? How can he justify marketing his product to young men that are in their teens and twenties? Those young men are beginning to date, form intimate relationships with women, and even marry. Why would he want to sell them shirts that imply it is OK to batter women, and that domestic violence is a joke? In numerous interviews both in print and on TV, Mr. Doolin admits that he is cashing in on a popular trend, and is out to make a buck. Greed, pure and simple, is the driving force behind his business

In my opinion, it is a business that degrades women. It creates a climate and fosters an attitude that will lead to further harm and suffering for millions of women across the country. And it denigrates the pain they and their families have already suffered.

Bruised and battered bodies are not funny. Terrified children and broken homes are not funny. Nor are murdered women lying on cold slabs in morgues. And oh yes, Mr. Doolin, your shirts aren’t funny either.