Public Image

The Wife Beater, by Gayle Rosenwald Smith writes in her article how a small thing is affected because of the public image given by the people. Public image is defined as “the ideas and opinions that the public has about a person or an organization that may not be what they are really like” by macmillandictionary.com. “Ever since the 1920's governments and powerful individuals have used public relations techniques to take advantage of large masses of people. As a result, public relations has established itself as the most effective form of persuasion due to its insidious nature, convincing people to believe lies, support unjust wars, and fall for other deceptive agendas” Aris Jameson from helium.com. The people decide whether something or someone has a good or bad reputation, even if they were fooled to believe so as Jameson explains. The people choose between what is good or bad, right or wrong, and moral or unmoral. The people are the deciding factor for everything, they can make change, make or break a business, decide what the trend is, and other common things. Public views can be disputed on so many subjects, for that purpose in this essay the main focus will be on the public image of tank-tops used in Smith’s article. “The name is the issue. For they are known as “wife-beaters.””(Smith). The public image for tank-tops are negative because people have given that type of particular clothing a terrible image of a “wife-beaters”. Smith states why the public image is important, how is it decided if it is wrong or right, and what are the effects to inform the results of a public image given to the intended subject.

The public image is very important because it is the deciding factor for everything. People choose from what they wear, to what to they buy. But when the public view is put into play they can change everything. In a funeral the proper clothing to wear is black to mourn a loved one, but if somebody whore a happy color in a funeral it would be seen as being disrespectful. “A number of slang experts across the country had never heard of the term, but kids know where it comes from. “It's a white-trash thing,” says one Orlando teen. The term “wife-beaters,” they say, is a mockery of the lowlifes who get home from work, get drunk and then beat up their wives or girlfriends.” By Linda Shrieves from the Orlando Sentinel. This article by Linda proves just how strong is the public image of tank-tops by interviewing a teen and getting his thoughts. Teens aren’t calling the clothes for its name but for what it represents. This image has been getting more popular due to the stereotypical view by many people who have learned what the shirt represents. The real question is how do people get this image, how do they decide what’s wrong and what right?

The importance of an image of any company is very crucial, it could either let it rise or fall. The image of tank-tops is already seen very negative, but company’s such as Dolce and Gabbana lavish tank tops with attractive males and females to model them. Clothing company’s try to change the public image of the tank tops back to sexy instead of the violent and negative views that people already have on them. Many films with scenes of men with tank tops beating up their women have popularized the public image of tank tops. Most likely people with common sense would see that a man hitting a women in wrong but films have connected tank tops with men hitting women. Clothing companies try to change the views of this type of clothing from wrong to right. Hollywood isn’t helping at all with films like XMEN where Wolverine is a tough and violent guy who wears a tank top. Not everybody who wears tank tops is violent or a wife beater, its just an old style that the people are bringing. “ ``That's a big part of the look,'' says Zaccardo. ''They'll wear a wife-beater with blue jeans rolled up with a big cuff, and they The might wear a bowling shirt on top over the wife-beater.'' trend can also be attributed to the swing movement, which has sent young people to vintage clothing stores in search of clothes from the '40s and '50s.”(shrieves). That trend of bringing back the 40’s look and connected them with wife beaters is what gave that look a terrible reputation giving the people the idea that this look is bad. Outside sources such as films, newspapers, commercials, and other media outlets are the main culprits to why people choose what is wrong and what is right. The effects of the people choosing the rights and wrongs are very important.

The effects of a public image can be good or very devastating. During the middle ages people that were believed to be witches were either hanged or killed. This happened because the public image of people who practiced any sort of witch craft was seen as evil and unmoral. Tank tops have also had devastating effects, with classifying the tank tops with men who beat their loved ones. A quick search for “wife beaters” on eBay and Amazon brought back results of tank tops. Walmart the largest retailer in the world also classified “wife beaters” as tank tops. The effects of the public image on tank tops influenced the market to also classify the under garment as its famous nickname. The effects have changed the clothing industry to adapt itself to the people ways of seeing things. Effects can be good, the public image of things aren’t always negative. For example a new law can be passed if the people believe it is a good idea and have good opinions on the new law. The positive influence of that law gives it a good public image giving it a better chance of being approved. But if the new law is seen as a bad idea and given a bad public image then it has a less chance of being approved. This effects are all controlled from the people, if the majority of people see things a particular way then it will most likely influence others. Smith in her article states how a small thing can be effected by the public image given by the people. She states how the public image is important, how do people decide what is wrong or right, and how it affects the intended subject. The people have the influence to make change, make or break a company, decide what the trend is, and other common things. The people are the ones who choose the image they believe is both correct and morally acceptable. The people are the influencers expressing their views. As more people are influenced then they form a public image of whatever they were influenced by. Religious leaders do this in a day to day basis, expressing their thoughts and views followed by their religion creating a public image for themselves. The public image is just the view of the people targeting a particular group, person, or subject in which it is decided through their very own beliefs and morals.