purplewashing

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noun

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.

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Meanings

nounpurplewashing (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe 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.

    Epilogue: from Islamophobia to purplewashing.

    2015, Belén Fernández Suárez, “The construction of a victimized alterity in political and media discourses via the burka ban debate.”, in Revista Internacional de Comunicación y Desarrollo, volume 3
    2 more examples

    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.

    2016 November, Nora Miralles Crespo, “Gender and military culture. Lives, bodies and social control under war.”, in Centre Delàs d’Estudis per la Pau

    View all notes has inspired conceptual tools such as whitewashing, purplewashing and greenwashing, among others.

    2017, Melania Moscoso, R. Lucas Platero, “Cripwashing: the abortion debates at the crossroads of gender and disability in the Spanish media”, in Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, volume 31, number 3
verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of purplewash

Origin

From purple + -wash + -ing. The colour purple is often associated with feminism.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

purplewashing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/purplewashing

MLA

“purplewashing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/purplewashing. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “purplewashing,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/purplewashing.

Source: purplewashing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.