whitewashing

English

Etymology

From whitewash +‎ -ing.

Noun

whitewashing (countable and uncountable, plural whitewashings)

1. The application of whitewash.
2. (figuratively) The effacement of errors or bad actions.

   Synonym: whitewash

   • 1906, Theodore Roosevelt, The Man with the Muck Rake:

     Some persons are sincerely incapable of understanding that to denounce mud slinging does not mean the endorsement of whitewashing; and both the interested individuals who need whitewashing and those others who practice mud slinging like to encourage such confusion of ideas.

   • 2007 July 15, “The Nixonian Whitewash, Scrubbed”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     The institution insulted history by peddling ludicrous whitewashings — describing the Watergate criminal conspiracy as a “coup” by Nixon’s political rivals fed by fake scoops purchased by the Woodstein investigative duo at The Washington Post.

3. (derogatory) The process of whitewashing, of making over (a person or character, a group, an event, etc) so that it is or seems more white (Caucasian), for example by applying makeup to a person, or by covering over the participation of non-whites in an event and focusing on only white participation.

   Antonym: blackwashing

   • 2016 October 5, Leah Williams, “How Hollywood Whitewashed the Old West”, in The Atlantic‎^[2]:

     While whitewashing remains a modern problem, it has a long history in American film: In the very first Hollywood movie, 1910’s In Old California, white actors played non-white roles.

   • 2020, Opio Dokotum, Hollywood and Africa: Recycling the 'Dark Continent' Myth from 1908-2020, African Books Collective, →ISBN, page 259:

     In both films we see the consolidation of a colonial power structure of Western saviour and African victims. [...] The director responds that 'the question doesn't even come up' when his whitewashing of black history in ancient Egypt is challenged. Scott and like-minded defenders of racism take the century-long Hollywood whitewashing of African history and heritage as normal. This [...] is now challenged through audience racism fatigue, alternative narratives of Africa, […]

Derived terms

• blackwashing
• bluewashing
• brownwashing
• greenwashing
• pinkwashing
• purplewashing
• rainbow washing
• redwashing

 

Translations

application of whitewash.

• Greek: άσπρισμα (el) n (ásprisma)

Verb

whitewashing

1. present participle and gerund of whitewash