Several Amazon ads for tank tops that use the term “wife beater,” a phrase deemed offensive by Canada’s advertising watchdog, have been removed from the retail giant’s Canadian e-commerce website. following a CBC News investigation.
Amazon told CBC by phone that it has no problem with the phrase and said the third-party distributors selling the shirts on its website must have acted on their own initiative.
The slang term “wife beater” refers to a certain style of tight-fitting men’s tank top. CBC News recently reportedon Amazon allows third-party sellers to use the term in ads, despite a ruling by the Ad Standards Council in March that the phrase is offensive, trivializes domestic violence and violates Canada’s advertising code.
Ad Standards, the self-regulatory body for Canada’s advertising industry, oversees the Advertising Standards Codewhich is voluntary.
Amazon decided to ignore a request from Ad Standards to remove the term “wife beater.” The US-based e-commerce giant told the industry watchdog that the phrase is accepted in popular culture and does not violate their Offensive Products Policy.
As part of its investigation, CBC News informed eight distributors who use the term in a total of 10 Amazon ads about the Ad Standards ruling. So far, nine of the 10 ads have been removed, modified to exclude the term, or, in one case, the product listed is no longer available for purchase.
Two of the distributors responded directly to CBC News.
“I am deeply sorry,” NATPOST said. “I will delete the link immediately.”
“I am deeply sorry that it caused harm,” said WANGYUNHUI2025, a merchant who removed the term from his tank top ads.
“I understand how important it is to use respectful and inclusive language, and I assure you that this will not be an issue in the future.”
The only ad that remains unchanged turns out to be the only one that sells tank tops for women, instead of men.
Amazon Canada told CBC News that it did not ask distributors to change their ads and still maintains its position that the term “wife beater” is acceptable as a clothing descriptor.
“Amazon is too big to care”
Ad Standards took on the Amazon case after receiving a complaint from Diana Swales of Regina in 2024. Swales saysHe was surprised when the retailer emailed him about products on its site that might interest him, including a men’s tank top.
“It’s obviously offensive,” he said. “It should be offensive to all women, but it certainly is to those who have been impacted by such activity.”
Swales was disappointed that Ad Standards could not force Amazon to remove the phrase from its website.
“I guess Amazon is too big to care,” he said.
But Swales was pleased to learn that almost all of the ads CBC News found had disappeared or been altered.
“I congratulate you,” he said, referring to the distributors. Swales said that pperhaps they simply needed to be made aware that the phrase could be considered offensive.
Amazon told CBC News in an email that it strives to “maintain a store that is welcoming to everyone,” and that it exercises discretion and takes “cultural differences and sensitivities into account…” when making decisions about product listings on its website.
Despite a ruling by Ad Standards Canada that the term “wife beater,” used to describe a type of men’s undershirt, violates the country’s advertising code, ads on Amazon’s Canadian website still include the term. Some women’s rights advocates are frustrated because they say the term trivializes domestic violence.
