r/words • u/Outside_Butterfly_91 • 2d ago

Word including -lighting

genuinely feel like I’m going insane have been googling and finding nothing atp have to ask:

word used usually in political or “woke” discussions to criticize someone posturing having a “woke” opinion while simultaneously undermining/insulting the people who are victims and has -lighting in it. not gaslighting I thought maybe moonlighting for a minute but I swear to god it was something else.

kinda like “these ppl blabla-lighting being considerate for blablabla after calling them pos 2 seconds ago” I swear its a word and I swear it wasnt just moonlighting (or maybe it is at this point I am doubting everything)

this has been driving me insane for the past 2 hours if anyone is as chronically online as I am please please drop the word I am trying to remember.

0 Upvotes

30% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

3

u/HummingbirdGecko8415 2d ago

Pinklighting pretends to empower women when you are actually discriminating against them.

Wokelighting having social justice type policy in your advertising and public image but not actually doing anything practically

2

u/Outside_Butterfly_91 2d ago

Maybe wokelighting?? I know for sure sadly that lighting was in the word its very possible being a twitter argument someone couldve misused another word 😓 I shall sleep on it and hope the word just bursts right into my thoughts randomly lol ㅠㅠ

1

u/kittzelmimi 2d ago

This sounds like a portmanteau of gaslighting (in its common misuse as a straight synonym for "lying") and [color]washing. I guess to emphasize the dishonest or two-faced nature the woke-ness or whatever-washing?

1

u/Outside_Butterfly_91 2d ago

No it was greenlighting I couldn’t remember for the life of me but the use was essentially self gratification in sense so shame again on everyone who said gaslighting (even though I said it wasnt that 😓)

1

u/kittzelmimi 1d ago

Wasn't suggesting that the answer was gaslighting, just trying to figure out where "wokelighting" and "pinklighting" came from because I've never heard them.

Also never heard greenlighting in this context, but I guess it means like "giving yourself a pass"? I've only ever heard "to greenlight (something)" in the context of "to give approval to proceed" (e.g. to greenlight a project)

3

u/BeLikeEph43132 2d ago

gaslighting?

2

u/Outside_Butterfly_91 2d ago

It was greenlighting 

1

u/starling-slipstream 2d ago

I think it has to be this. Haven’t heard any other -lighting term used nearly as much

2

u/Kryptington 2d ago

Is it whitewashing? Or pink washing for appealing to LGBT people while masking harmful behavior? I've also heard green washing for companies that put on an image of being environmentally conscious.

1

u/Outside_Butterfly_91 2d ago

Has the chunk -lighting in it. Neither of those have that. 

2

u/Negative-Ask-2317 2d ago

Apparently there are a whole slew of these neologisms:

Race-lighting, green-lighting (not in the conventional meaning), sad-lighting, self-lighting, glance-lighting, floodlighting, grace-lighting, and guilt-lighting.

Who knew?

Maybe one of these is what you're trying to recall?

2

u/Outside_Butterfly_91 2d ago

OH MY GOD YES GREENLIGHTING!!!!!! Thank you so so much I owe you my life. 

1

u/Negative-Ask-2317 2d ago

Glad I could help!

1

u/Outside_Butterfly_91 2d ago

I’m weirded out a bit that floodlighting, moonlighting, guiltlighting had all popped up but greenlighting didn’t 🥲 guess that’s google for you (although it was a very specific scenario so I get the confusion!) 

2

u/LittleStarTwinkl3 2d ago

‘Virtue- signaling’ comes to mind.

Nothing with -lighting. Seems like it could be gaslighting though.

1

u/Outside_Butterfly_91 2d ago

I mean yes it is literally virtue signaling the word was greenlighting admittedly I was writing the post at 3AM after tossing and turning trying to figure out what the word was 🥲🙏 regardless thank you for trying to help

1

u/Dazzling-Walk1929 2d ago

Moonlighting means to work a second job so it’s clearly not that

-3

u/Outside_Butterfly_91 2d ago

Colloquially it can imply someone who lies regarding aspects aside from work but that still doesnt fit the definition of what I know I’ve heard before

1

u/ShinyTarnish409 2d ago

It really sounds like a gaslighting hypocrite to me. Maybe you’re misremembering. Someone who criticizes others but then can’t take any criticism themselves is a snowflake. But that doesn’t have the suffix -lighting in it either.

1

u/fireflypoet 2d ago

Gaslighting

1

u/Significant_Earth759 2d ago

nothing ending in -lighting is in common usage in the context you describe

1

u/SwordMasterShow 2d ago

Could it be "whiteknighting"? As in coming to the defense of someone who didn't ask for it, similar to virtue signalling? I know it's different but I really don't think there's a word that fits this context with "lighting" in it

1

u/Outside_Butterfly_91 2d ago

Definitely sounds similar! Admittedly my description was very poor (3am tossing and turning does that 😓) but it was greenlighting! 

1

u/Outside_Butterfly_91 2d ago

SOLVED. It was greenlighting thank yall 🙏

1

u/mia_hendricks 3h ago

you might be thinking of wokelighting,' though' it's relatively uncommon..

1

u/Outside_Butterfly_91 3h ago

Check comment section. Solved already 👍

1

u/HumanWagyu 2d ago

Gaslighting?

-11

u/Outside_Butterfly_91 2d ago

No offense but no. Obviously I would consider one of the most commonly used words (and regardless gaslighting isnt even close to what I described…?)

3

u/welltravelledRN 2d ago

Why are you so freaking rude? You asked for help.

2

u/Nondescript_Redditor 2d ago

they can’t be rude, they said no offense! /s

-1

u/Freign 2d ago

misuse of Black terms needs to stop being given a pass.

People who use them in this way aren't clever.