People have been wondering how it is that movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was able to stay ahead of accusations (he denies them) of sexual harassment and assault of young assistants and actresses — including some who are now among the most powerful women in Hollywood — for so long.
I think the answer can be partly summed up with these words: fashion designer Donna Karan.
Karan came into her own in the mid-1980s, revolutionizing women’s fashion by creating flattering clothing for women of a certain size — women with breasts and hips and curves, women who weren’t the Size 0 upon whom other major designers focused.
Karan’s designs were appropriate for business and yet, unlike the power suits with linebacker shoulder pads women had been wearing in an effort to be taken seriously, they were inherently feminine. With stretch fabrics, slit skirts and deep V-necks, they celebrated the female form without being considered flashy, the way body-conscious looks are often perceived.
Karan’s 1992 “In Women We Trust” advertising campaign, featuring a female president dressed in a menswear-inspired double-breasted suit jacket, only cemented her commitment to women and the feminist dream: Yes, we could be powerful while remaining true to ourselves and our femininity.
Back then, Karan was the big sister we wanted, the best friend we needed, the boss to whom we hoped to report. She was smart, business savvy and well-connected to all the right people (including Weinstein) and all the right causes (raising money for AIDS education and awareness, ovarian cancer and helping artisans in Haiti build businesses through fair trade).
Fast forward to last week when, according to published reports, Karan — who created clothing for women intent on crashing the glass ceiling — did this when asked at a fashion film awards ceremony about the allegations against Weinstein: She blamed the victim.
“How do we present ourselves as women?” she reportedly said. “What are we asking? Are we asking for it? By presenting all the sensuality and all the sexuality? What are we throwing out to our children today? About how to dance, how to perform and what to wear? How much should they show? …
“It’s not Harvey Weinstein, you look at everything all over the world today, you know, and how women are dressing and what they’re asking by just presenting themselves the way they do. What are they asking for? Trouble.”
For the record, 69-year-old Karan has since distanced herself from her statement made to a reporter, using the line that so many who say regrettable things have used before: “My quotes were taken out of context.”
Taken out of context?
I know other women, albeit way less high-profile, who have blamed the victim in cases of alleged harassment.
One woman, who worked in a male-dominated field, shocked me several years ago when she said she was still supporting businessman Herman Cain in his bid for the 2012 Republican nomination for president after Cain was accused of sexually harassing female co-workers. Simply put, she just didn’t believe the women; said they were motivated by money, fame, spite.
Another woman, during a discussion about school dress codes, suggested that girls and their clothing choices are responsible for boys’ inability to concentrate on schoolwork.
More: Mayim Bialik answers backlash accusing her of victim-blaming in Harvey Weinstein scandal
I don’t understand how it is that so many women, the people you’d expect to be most sympathetic and supportive of the victims often aren’t very supportive at all — even though there’s a good chance they’ve been sexually harassed or have a female friend who has been harassed. According to a 2015 study by Cosmopolitan, one in three women ages 18 to 34 reported being sexually harassed in the workplace.
But I suspect that lack of support from other women — women from metro Detroit or a high-powered fashion designer — is what keeps other women from reporting incidents of sexual harassment and bringing harassers to light.
Because when you can’t count on the support of the very people who have most likely walked the same path as you, who are most likely familiar with some form of harassment, who can you count on?
Karan’s very public comments are a very public reminder of the obstacles women are up against when it comes to reporting cases of sexual harassment.
They’re a reminder of how difficult it is to battle harassers, who are most often men.
And they’re a reminder that these men have enablers, and some of those enablers are women.
And enablers are not our friends.