Gen Z loves the ‘wife beater’ tee — but they’re canceling the name

The “wife beater” is canceled — along with blond hair, skinny jeans, thumbs-up emojis and everything else Gen Z has declared uncool, or “cheugy.”

Not the actual article of clothing itself, of course — the sleeveless white tee, or A-shirt, once widely associated with the stereotypical blue-collar male and immortalized in pop culture by macho Marlon Brando in 1951’s “A Streetcar Named Desire,” is hotter than ever with the younger generation, and can even be spotted being worn by celebs like “The Bear” actor Jeremy Allen White.

Just don’t call it, well, you know.

While origins of the controversial moniker are unconfirmed, sources cite a 1947 murder case involving a Detroit man who was arrested for beating his wife to death and photographed wearing the infamous top.

These days, the so-called kinder, gentler generation has come up with a new name for the controversial classic: “wife pleaser.”

On TikTok, #wifepleaser boasts more than 11.4 million views, while #wifepleasertank has racked up 13.9 million. Trendsetters on the app rejoice at the arrival of “wife pleaser” summer, flaunting the wardrobe staple in viral “fit checks” and excitedly reviewing the “best brands” on the market.

“We all grew up hearing the term ‘wife beater,’ and we understand why a hundred years ago that name would have made perfect sense,” popular Gen Z fashion influencer Jace Martinez, 24, told The Post. “But in 2023, it doesn’t sit right with a lot of people to casually throw around the term … in a culture that no longer normalizes domestic violence.”

The rehabilitation of the undergarment’s image comes in the wake of #MeToo — the viral movement sparked by assault allegations against now-disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Multiple alternatives to “wife beater” have been offered up in recent years — “The Simpsons” once used the term “wife blesser,” while “Queer Eye” star Jonathan Van Ness dubbed it a “wife lover” — but none really stuck until now.

“‘Wife pleaser’ has become a pretty common term among TikTok users who discuss men’s fashion and style topics,” Martinez, from Texas, said. “It’s kind of hard to avoid, given that the white undershirt is where a lot of outfits begin.”

And while the overwhelming majority of fashion-forward TikTokers agree on the idea of the rebrand, some are pushing back on the term “wife pleaser,” calling it “cringe,” while others ask if a simple “undershirt” or “tank top” wouldn’t suffice.

“Whoever woke up one day and decided, ‘Oh yes, let’s replace wife beater with the term wife pleaser,’ and didn’t think it was just gonna be the grossest, most ickiest terminology for a tank top in the world was sick in the head,” NYC content creator Sara Feigin fumed in a TikTok clip.

Fellow online influencer Xander Torres, who boasts more than 182,800 followers intrigued by his styling videos, regularly refers to the undershirts as “wife pleasers.” He said he receives pushback from a “vocal minority of incels and virgins,” who prefer the original term, but he’s also not bothered about it.

“If you think ‘wife pleaser’ is corny or cheesy and you’d rather say ‘tank top,’ then fine, say ‘tank top,’” he said in one of his viral clips. “I’m not the word police, I don’t care.”