156. Rainbow Washing
The Allusionist
Helen Zaltzman
4.7 • 3.8K Ratings
🗓️ 11 June 2022
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
From whitewash (the paint) we got whitewashing (the covering up of misdeeds) and from there greenwashing, redwashing, bluewashing, purplewashing, pinkwashing - and now rainbow washing, where companies will put Pride flags all over products and posts during the month of June, but behind the scenes will not necessarily be useful - and sometimes they'll be anti-useful. Mitra Kaboli, host of the new podcast Welcome to Provincetown, helps sort the real allyship from the rainbow-washing; and writer Sarah Schulman, who popularised the term 'pinkwashing', explains the more political meaning of that word.
This episode contains some swears.
Find out more information about the topics in this episode at theallusionist.org/rainbow-washing, plus a transcript and the full dictionary entry for the randomly selected word.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the Illusionist in which I Helen Zaltzman, |
| 0:07.0 | hired from language before language starts going on about our theory again. |
| 0:11.1 | This episode is about washing, not the kind that makes things clean, |
| 0:15.2 | the kind that just covers over the dirt. |
| 0:17.5 | But before that, glad tidings, |
| 0:20.0 | the Illusionist Live experience is coming to Australia in July. |
| 0:24.2 | July 2022, that is next month at time of recording. |
| 0:28.8 | So if you're in or near Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide or Sydney, |
| 0:33.0 | hop on your most secure mask and come to see me and Houseband Martin Orkstwick, |
| 0:37.7 | perform a new show called Your Name Here. |
| 0:41.0 | It's all about epinems, full of facts and fun, |
| 0:43.9 | and with some probably regretful musical numbers. |
| 0:46.8 | And there's a special Illusionist pencil included with every ticket. |
| 0:50.4 | Also some shows in Atearoa, New Zealand are looking likely in August. |
| 0:54.4 | So keep an eye on their Illusionist.org slash events |
| 0:57.9 | because ticket links will be up there very soon or possibly already. |
| 1:02.2 | But definitely very soon, given that the show is a very soon. |
| 1:05.9 | This episode contains some swears on with the show. |
| 1:15.5 | For the first couple of hundred years of its existence, |
| 1:18.2 | the word whitewash had a fairly simple time as a cheap paint |
| 1:21.7 | doured on walls and trees. |
| 1:23.4 | But at some point in the 18th century, |
... |
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