WHITEWASHING

What Does Whitewashing Mean?

Whitewashing refers to the painting of walls or fences with a cheap white paint (a mixture of chalked lime and water) that covers up dirt and other marks.

Whitewashing is used as an idiom with a number of meanings, including: glossing over bad conduct, dishonesty, or other misdeeds; casting a white actor to play a character of color; and editing images to make skin appear lighter.

Here is more information about each of these definitions of whitewashing.

Glossing Over Bad Conduct, Dishonesty, or Other Misdeeds

In general speech, the term whitewashing is widely used to refer to the practice of glossing over bad conduct, dishonesty, or other misdeeds (e.g., Russian state media reporting on the war in Ukraine, western media's failure to report on Ukrainian war crimes).

Casting a White Actor to Play a Character of Color

In film and television, whitewashing is the practice of casting white actors in non-white roles. A famous example is that of Johnny Depp playing a native American in the film The Lone Ranger.

Editing Images to Make Skin Appear Lighter

Whitewashing is also used to refer to the editing of images to make the subject's skin look lighter. This is a common practice among fans of K-Pop and other genres of Asian pop music. Whitewashing of this type is even done by some western celebrities of color (or their publicists).

The most famous example of this sort of whitewashing is probably the steps taken by singer Michael Jackson to actually change his skin tone to a lighter color.

Example of Whitewashing Used in a Text