Religion
In reply to the discussion: Why weren't any biblical writers inspired to support equal rights for women? [View all]guillaumeb
(42,649 posts)It is used as a diversionary tactic to shift the focus off of an issue and avoid having to directly address it.
This technique works by twisting criticism back onto the critic and in doing so revealing the original critic's hypocrisy.
The usual syntax is "What about...?" followed by an issue on the opponents side which is vaguely, if at all, related to the original issue.
Simply put, whataboutism refers to the bringing up of one issue in order to distract from the discussion of another.
Finally, and most importantly:
It does not apply to the comparison and analysis of two similar issues in terms such as why some are given more social prominence than others.
This definition implicitly requires an intent to divert. But if the 2 issues are related, as in the universal nature of intolerance, or the universal occurrence of child molestation, it is not whataboutism.