Pinkwashing.

From the NYT:

I do this sort of on-the-fly editing all the time when reading to my 5-year-old. I call it “pinkwashing” after the scene in “Pinkalicious” in which the poor, discolored child must stomach horrible green vegetables as a cure for her unfortunate pinkness. She chokes down artichokes, gags on grapes and burps up brussels sprouts. The passage serves important narrative and stylistic functions, of course, but Emmett loves artichokes, grapes and brussels sprouts. He never complains about eating them, so rather than hint at a generation-long struggle against the tyranny of green veggies, I replace the negative verbs with positive ones. Pinkwashing.

To each their own.

Comments

[MotherReader]

This absolutely baffled me. Why even read the book if you find it so age-inappropriate for your kid? What is wrong with these parents that they can't just say, "Nope. Let's see what Pippi Longstocking is doing."

[Leila]

Yeah, it threw me as well. And seemed like the whole situation just indicated an unwillingness/difficulty in just saying, "No, let's wait on that one"? But it takes all kinds. As long as she's not telling other parents what they can/can't/should/shouldn't do, whatever.

[Melissa]

haha MotherReader I suspect Pippi herself would come in for a fair bit of 'pinkwashing'

[Mickie]

I can edit on the fly...I just start to stutter.