Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) went deep into grotesque victim-blaming territory at a meeting of House Democrats on Wednesday, Politico reports:
“I saw a member yesterday with her cleavage so deep it was down to the floor,” Kaptur said, according to the sources present. “And what I’ve seen … it's really an invitation.” The comments left many others in the room stunned, the sources said.
An invitation? Kaptur apparently didn’t get booed, though “Nearly everyone in the room’s mouths were wide open aghast,” but booing seems like a reasonable response. That or standing up and saying “Are you kidding? Men’s sexual harassment is women’s responsibility to block?” Perhaps someone could have responded by suggesting that the Democratic caucus should bring in Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar to impose modesty requirements.
After word got out about what she’d said, Kaptur insisted she didn’t intend to victim-blame, she just … wants women in Congress to cover themselves up:
“When I was first elected to Congress my office and I became a refuge for female staffers who had been mistreated by their bosses. Some of them in tears many days. It is something I carry with me to this day and something I brought up during our Caucus meeting," she said. "Under no circumstances is it the victim's fault if they are harassed in any way. I shared the stories from my time here in the context of the ‘Me Too’ legislation and how we can elevate the decorum and the dress code to protect women from what is a pervasive problem here and in society at large.”
If you think a dress code is the way to protect women, you don’t understand the context of Me Too legislation or Me Too anything else.