'Wife Beater' Shirts Spark Outcry

April 25 -- A Web site selling "Wife Beater" logo T-shirts and offering a special discount to convicted abusers is vowing to stay in business, despite outrage from anti-domestic violence groups.

James Doolin, a 30-year-old entrepreneur from Texas, created his site several months ago, offering men's and women's tank tops imprinted with the words "Wife Beater."

"We don't advocate violence or anything like that," he said today. "It's a humorous site."

"I don't think anybody is buying the T-shirt and going to go put it on to beat their wife," he insisted.

Capitalizing on a Popular Slang Term

"Wife Beater" is a popular slang reference to ribbed white cotton sleeveless undershirts, like the one worn by Marlon Brando when he played Stanley Kowalski in the movie A Streetcar Named Desire.

Doolin says he dreamed up the idea for his products after watching the television show Cops, which has often shown footage of men being arrested on domestic violence charges, who happen to be wearing the sleeveless Ts.

"I didn't make it up," he said. "I'm just trying to capitalize."

His wife-beaters Web site also has a host of other features that have drawn the ire of anti-domestic violence groups. It plays, for example, the song "Smack My Bitch Up," by the English group Prodigy, and has a "hall of fame" of domestic abuse. The order form lets buyers customize the shirts with beer, motor oil and other stains.

It also offers shirts at half price for "convicted wife beaters" able to document their offense and conviction. Full price for a regular "Wife Beater" shirt is $20.

"It's just a gimmick," Doolin insisted. "I don't expect anybody to take me up on it."

Critics are not amused, however.

"This site goes beyond the boundaries of any socially acceptable values," said Rita Smith, executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Still Going, Despite Hundreds of Complaints

Her organization is asking people not to visit the site and to complain via e-mail and telephone.