Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To
cover in acoat ofpink paint . - verb To
promote consumer goods andservices usingsupport ofbreast cancer -relatedcharities . - verb LGBT To
tout thegay-friendliness of something in an attempt todownplay orsoften aspects of it considerednegative .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
pink + wash
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Examples
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Just as they have gotten savvier at seeing behind the curtain of product marketing, so are they looking deeper than the pinkwash during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Andrea Learned: The Pinking of October: Are Consumers Buying It? 2008
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[Thanks to the pinkwash campaign, Yoplait no longer contains rBGH!
Progressive Bloggers 2009
thelaughorist commented on the word pinkwash
pinkwash -- v. To smear one with false allegations of "socialism" (at a time when a so-called conservative president is presiding over the largest government intervention since FDR's efforts during the Great Depression, when Republicans even opposed the idea of Social Security as a "socialist" move).
October 26, 2008
bilby commented on the word pinkwash
"While campaigning on Saturday in Sioux City, Iowa, Mr McCain's vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin said her criticism of Obama had not been negative.
'Don't be made to feel guilty. I'm not feeling guilty,' she said as calls of 'he's a socialist' were heard from the crowd."
- 'Obama criticises 'ugly' tactics', BBC News, 25 October 2008.
October 26, 2008
swordnik commented on the word pinkwash
"...is defined by the U.S,-based group, Breast Cancer Action, as "a term used critically of corporate campaigns and practices in which the sponsoring companies position themselves as leaders in the struggle to eradicate breast cancer while engaging in practices that may be contributing to rising rates of the disease."
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pinkwashing
January 31, 2011