Update: It seems that xinitrc was fine, but simply not being run when my session started. Logging out, explicitly setting my session type to Xfce in the gdm screen, and logging in again got things working.
This guy apparently had the same problem: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=2047486#post2047486 -- xfce's xinitrc ignores ~/.config/xfce4/Xft.xrdb https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/231311 You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs