whitewashing

[ wahyt-wosh-ing, -waw-shing, hwahyt- ]

noun

1. the act or process of whitening with whitewash:

   The picket fence could use a few minor repairs, but mostly it needs a good whitewashing.

2. an instance or methodical practice of covering up or glossing over the faults or errors of someone or something:

   Behind her assurances that all the coffee was fair-trade, there always lurked the possibility of some creative whitewashing.

   We would have known about this high-level corruption much sooner if it weren’t for the carefully orchestrated whitewashing within the department.

3. 1. the casting of a white actor to play a character of color in a film, television show, or play:

      Whitewashing has a long tradition in the history of Hollywood casting.

   2. in a representation of a historical era or event, the focus on a member or members of the dominant cultural group rather than the minority individual or group whose presence would be more historically accurate:

      The documentarian's whitewashing preserves the false notion that our race to the moon was won only on the shoulders of white heterosexual men.

Word History and Origins

Origin of whitewashing¹

First recorded in 1650–60 whitewashing fordef 1; 1760–70 whitewashing fordef 2; 2005–10 whitewashing fordef 3a; 1995–2000 whitewashing fordef 3b; whitewash ( def ) + -ing ¹( def )

Example Sentences

At most historical museums in the U.S., he said, “It’s the white people’s history of that area,” omitting much and perhaps whitewashing much else.

From Los Angeles Times

But for Lanne’s descendants, it represents colonial brutality, the dehumanising myth that Tasmanian Aboriginal people are extinct, and the whitewashing of the island's past.

From BBC

In 2015, Disney was accused of whitewashing Tiger Lily by having Rooney Mara, a white woman, portray the Native American princess in “Pan.”

From Los Angeles Times

The career military officer who investigated Lance Corporal Chae’s death has accused the Defense Ministry of whitewashing the probe and absolving top military brass of responsibility — all under pressure from Mr. Yoon.

From New York Times

In a world where right-wing politicians are actively scrubbing America's stains of slavery from our memories in schools, whitewashing our troubled histories is detrimental and regressive.

From Salon

Related Words

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