Off the beater path

For better or worse, a tank-top style t-shirt has in our day come to be called a "wife beater," thought to have originated from various film images in which men of the lower classes wearing such undershirts were seen beating their wives. Examples include Marlon Brando in the 1951 film version of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire or the 1980 Robert De Niro film Raging Bull.

Despite the repugnant notion of domestic violence built into these roles (not to mention the term wife beater itself), the seething sensuality of such raw, untamed masculinity never escaped the notice of any gay man. And so it comes as no surprise that the shirt itself became a kind of sex symbol and even fetish for some guys.

Add to that the suggestive power that partial nudity has over total exposure, and you have a potent recipe for a sensual male image.

But decide for yourself. A couple of years ago, photographer Andrew Caldwell and I enjoyed exploring the visual possibilities of the wife beater look. Combined, of course, with my own penchant for as much nudity as I can get away with. Check out the Beater photo set now in our gallery collection.