purplewashing

English

Etymology

Blend of purple +‎ whitewashing.

Noun

purplewashing (uncountable)

1. The practice of presenting something as feminist, particularly a political action, in order to soften or downplay aspects of its reputation considered negative or as a justification for economic, political, xenophobic or racist goals.
   • 2016 November, Nora Miralles Crespo, “Gender and military culture. Lives, bodies and social control under war.”, in Centre Delàs d’Estudis per la Pau:

     One of the most common tools of promoting militarism in Western societies is the use of women as a flag. The so-called purplewashing or purple lavage, is to provide a veneer of liberal-colonial feminism in military interventions to legitimize them as actions of almost moral and ethical obligation. Purplewashing, currently closely linked to Islamophobia, is used to reinforce Western moral superiority, making invisible the struggles of those who do not conform to the colonial pattern, making the peoples essential, and ultimately legitimizing any kind of economic or military intervention towards the rest of the world.

Coordinate terms

• pinkwashing
• greenwashing
• redwashing
• feminationalism
• femvertising

Further reading

• purplewashing on Wikipedia.Wikipedia