woke-washing
Hollow social posturing
Woke-washing is the corporate practice of superficially adopting progressive social causes for marketing purposes without meaningful commitment.
A company might celebrate Pride Month with rainbow logos while donating to anti-LGBTQ politicians, or tout diversity initiatives while maintaining discriminatory practices.
The term parallels greenwashing—both describe performative gestures that substitute for substantive change: Critics called the campaign pure woke-washing.
Pretense of virtue
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- cynicalDoubting human goodness
- inauthenticNot what it claims
- disingenuousFeigning ignorance or innocence
co-optation · commodification · capitalism · profiteering · backlash · callout · accountability · transparency
False sustainability claims
- pinkwashingExploiting LGBTQ causes superficially
- performativeDone for appearance's sake
- PRStrategic communication management
- marketingPromoting goods to consumers
branding · diversity · inclusion · superficial · tokenism · optics · hashtag · campaign
Profiting from queer imagery
- Black Lives MatterCivil rights movement against racist violence
- International Women's DayAnnual observance honoring females
- JuneteenthEmancipation anniversary celebration
- Earth DayEnvironmental awareness holiday
heritage month · solidarity · sponsorship · merchandise · limited edition · collection · advertisement · commercial
hypocrisy
Pretense of virtue
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- cynicalDoubting human goodness
- inauthenticNot what it claims
disingenuous · co-optation · commodification · capitalism · profiteering · backlash · callout · accountability · transparency · scrutiny
greenwashing
False sustainability claims
- pinkwashingExploiting LGBTQ causes superficially
- performativeDone for appearance's sake
- PRStrategic communication management
marketing · branding · diversity · inclusion · superficial · tokenism · optics · hashtag · campaign · statement
rainbow capitalism
Profiting from queer imagery
- Black Lives MatterCivil rights movement against racist violence
- International Women's DayAnnual observance honoring females
- JuneteenthEmancipation anniversary celebration
Earth Day · heritage month · solidarity · sponsorship · merchandise · limited edition · collection · advertisement · commercial · influencer
woke-washingtransparency
State of being see-through
integrity · authenticity · walking the walk · honesty · accountability
woke-washingsocial enterprise
Business prioritizing impact over profit
woke, washing, wash, washed, washer, washes, washable, unwashed, whitewash