My Thoughts on Lena Dunham and Girls

I am going to cut right to the chase.

I love Lena Dunham and her show Girls.

The premier of the new season blew my mind!

I love how the characters are flawed and multidimensional.  Watching them show their different layers not only entertains me, but also gets me thinking about people and motivations and relationships.  (I have a whole other post devoted to this coming soon).

Right now I am going to focus on all the negative press surrounding Lena’s use of nudity.  In a press conference, Lena was confronted by a rude and passive-aggressive journalist who asked why Hannah is always naked.  She handled it like a pro, but I have to be honest, this made me mad.

Seriously?!  I love this woman!

To attack a woman’s body because it does not look like a Victoria’s Secret model is counterproductive and horrible and just plain mean.  Why is this even an issue?  No one in an uproar about Adam’s body (Hannah’s boyfriend) not looking like David Beckham

I get that some people are offended by nudity in general, but the people who are offended because Hannah’s body is not considered perfect by the unrealistic expectations set by society is damaging to women.

What does that say about my body? What does it say to my daughter who is already picking up on society's pressure to look thin?  What does this say to my son who will pick up that talking about a girls’ body in a derogatory way is acceptable?

And I get the irony – I mean, Lena is writing herself into these sex scenes, and one may say that those sex scenes are objectifying women. 

I would disagree. 

Don't get me wrong - the sex scenes can be uncomfortable to watch. Not because of the nudity, but for me at least, it reminds me of the times I compromised myself in order to not be rejected by a guy. I can say that now being 15 plus years removed with lots of therapy to teach me about healthy boundaries. However, these scenes and relationships remind me of a confusing time in my life.

 That aside, I think the bigger accomplishment here is changing our perceptions of what beauty looks like.   Lena is normalizing what a normal person looks like.  She is making a place for women in a world that puts a high premium on being thin.

I think that is pretty remarkable.

(Hops off of soapbox).

What are your thoughts on Girls and Hannah’s nakedness?  Does it offend you?  Are you in favor of it?