Who called Senator Gillibrand 'chubby'? His identity matters.
It was the late Sen. Daniel Inouye (D) of Hawaii, The New York Times reports. His comment could be written off as just a grandpa being inappropriate. But there's more to the story.
A photo of Kirsten Gillibrand's book, "Off the Sidelines: Raise Your Voice, Change the World." In the book, she speaks of how she has been treated in Washington as a woman.
Ballantine Books/AP
Washington
The New York Times has sussed out the identity of the senator who once squeezed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) of New York and called her 鈥渃hubby.鈥� It was the late Sen. Daniel Inouye (D) of Hawaii, a legend in Hawaii politics who served 48 years in the Senate and passed away in 2012, the Times reported, .
Somehow, that鈥檚 not terribly surprising. Senator Inouye was from a different generation, where the norms for interaction between men and women were much more lopsided. It might be akin to one鈥檚 grandparents, back in the 1970s, referring to 鈥渃olored鈥� people or using unflattering terms for people of certain religious or ethnic groups. Grandma and Grandpa weren鈥檛 bad people 鈥� they were just using the vernacular of the day, at least for people of their generation.
When Senator Gillibrand refused to identify Inouye as the culprit on 鈥渃hubby,鈥� and others who made inappropriate comments, , "It鈥檚 less important who they are than what they said.鈥�
In her new book 鈥淥ff the Sidelines,鈥� where she revealed the 鈥渃hubby鈥� remark, she identified the perpetrator only as 鈥渙ne of my favorite older members of the Senate.鈥�
Basically, he was a grandpa who didn鈥檛 mean any harm. And as any woman knows, it鈥檚 much easier to laugh off a sexist comment than to make a federal case out of it. Had it been a younger member teasing her, someone closer to her age, the uproar over Gillibrand鈥檚 book revelation 鈥� and the pressure to name names 鈥� would have been greater.
But there鈥檚 more to the story of Inouye and women. In 1992, his hairdresser accused him of forcing her to have sex with him.
鈥淗er accusations exploded into a campaign issue that year, and one Hawaii state senator announced that she had heard from nine other women who said they had been sexually harassed by Mr. Inouye,鈥� the Times recalls. 鈥淏ut the women did not want to go forward with their claims.鈥�
Some say, let sleeping dogs lie. Inouye is no longer alive, and let鈥檚 remember him for his service. He was a decorated World War II veteran; he lost an arm in the war. He was the first Japanese-American to serve in Congress. He was a champion of civil rights and supporter of women鈥檚 rights.
When the elderly Inouye grabbed Gillibrand鈥檚 waist and said, 鈥淒on鈥檛 lose too much weight now. I like my girls chubby!鈥� Gillibrand was in the classic bind. Older man, younger woman, don鈥檛 make waves. She was also new to the Senate, having just been appointed to fill the seat of the new secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton. But clearly Inouye鈥檚 comment stuck with her.
And, it turns out, Inouye apparently had a history of inappropriate behavior toward women, which, back in the day, wasn鈥檛 exactly unique. Vice President Biden鈥檚 has brought back the story of the Oregon Republican senator鈥檚 political demise in 1995. He was drummed out of the Senate after 10 women accused him of sexual abuse and assault. 聽
In Sunday鈥檚 New York Times, Matt Bai鈥檚 piece on Gary Hart chronicles the moment in history when the downfall of a rising Democratic star over marital infidelity
Now the memory of Daniel Inouye has also been changed forever, if only slightly. But the larger point is clear: The norms of male behavior toward women have changed, both inside the Senate and outside. Gillibrand鈥檚 story is just the latest reminder.聽