You guys know I don’t care for Lena Dunham’s “look at me, don’t you dare look at me, LOOK AT ME, you’re so sexist for looking at me” antics. She used to do that all the time – she would step out in the worst, most unflattering styles and parade herself in front of cameras, then she would be absolutely shocked and appalled that someone had an opinion about how she looked or what she was wearing. To be fair, she outgrew that a few years ago, but we were due for another outbreak like a bad rash. Over the past week. Lena stepped out for two events – the opening of Tracy Anderson’s new studio, and the Human Rights Gala in LA. She looked noticeably slimmer at both events. She even talked about her new approach to her weight, fitness and health in general at the Tracy Anderson event. Tracy is her trainer and she told People Magazine that she went to Tracy because of her (Lena’s) endometriosis, chronic pain and more.
While most of the headlines I saw on major media outlets were along the lines of “Lena shows off her newly trim figure,” there were some shadier and meaner headlines. So Lena decided to post a message to her Instagram about body-shaming and more. She posted the Refinery29 headline of “People Need to Stop Talking About Lena Dunham’s Weight,” and this is what she wrote:
Thank you for this @Refinery29. I feel I’ve made it pretty clear over the years that I don’t give even the tiniest of sh-ts what anyone else feels about my body. I’ve gone on red carpets in couture as a size 14. I’ve done sex scenes days after surgery, mottled with scars. I’ve accepted that my body is an ever changing organism, not a fixed entity- what goes up must come down and vice versa.
I smile just as wide no matter my current size because I’m proud of what this body has seen and done and represented. Chronic illness sufferer. Body-shaming vigilante. Sexual assault survivor. Raging hottie. Just like all of YOU. Right now I’m struggling to control my endometriosis through a healthy diet and exercise. So my weight loss isn’t a triumph and it also isn’t some sign I’ve finally given in to the voices of trolls. Because my body belongs to ME–at every phase, in every iteration, and whatever I’m doing with it, I’m not handing in my feminist card to anyone.
So thank you to my girl @ashleygraham for writing so gorgeously about this on @lennyletter (link in bio). Thank you to @tracyandersonmethod for teaching me that exercise has the power to counteract my pain and anxiety, and to @jennikonner for being my partner in F–K IT. I refuse to celebrate these bullsh-t before-and-after pictures. Don’t we have infinitely more pressing news to attend to? So much love to all
my web friends who demand that life be more than a daily weigh in, who know their merit has nothing to do with their size, who fight to be seen and heard and accepted. I love you- Lena
The thing is, I feel similarly about my weight, but I hate that my shared life/weight philosophy is somehow “clapping back at haters” or whatever. Like, I don’t weigh myself, I work out to stay healthy and strong and I couldn’t give a sh-t about what you think of my body. But that’s just the thing – I truly don’t give a sh-t, so I’m not walking on red carpets, talking about my body or promoting a celebrity-trainer.
I understand that Lena feels like she’s a spokesperson for women in general, and yes, it’s incredibly annoying when celebrities lose some weight and they are celebrated for that, and I don’t have an issue with Lena calling that out. But it’s also too cute by half to not acknowledge that weight loss is a huge industry in which celebrity women (in particular) participate in and profit from. Lena was at the opening of Tracy Anderson’s latest studio – and Anderson is exactly the kind of a–hole who shames women for their bodies. I also feel like Lena is taking issue with people noticing that she simply lost weight. Like, it’s not sexist to say, “Oh, you lost weight, good for you!”
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.
Can she please just go away? Forever?
I hate that she’s seen as a representation of my generation. She’s insufferable.
Seconding this whole comment.
She doesn’t represent us. She believes she does in her head.
I feel bad that she is less irritating as a thinner person…I know I’m a horrible body shamer! And I couldn’t agree more that she should just go away.
Really? She’s never been more annoying than she is now, to me. I want to yell “just shut up about it already!” But apparently there are people talking about her weight? I’m only hearing her talk about it.
“Look at me. Look at ME. LOOK AT MEEEEE!!!”
@Donna, I really don’t have any time for this entitled lummox, but your comment made me lol, it has definite “Kath and Kim” vibes, and they were hilarious and owned their boganism. Thank you for lightening my day!
Reminds me of that Naomi Watts bit in I Heart Huckabees https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJNVwpjU2RY
Dunham can be funny occasionally, but is always annoying. And anyone in bed with Tracy Anderson is a NO. Clearly Dunham is nowhere near as smart as she thinks she is.
Is it me or does she look like Kate Middleton with those bangs??
I agree, I was scrolling quickly and it’s early morning and I briefly wondered why on earth there was a story about Kate Middleton and weight loss.
Wow, I see it now.
She looks like Tina Fey to me. I don’t see Kate Middleton at all.
She looks exactly like Tina Fey.
Sounds like she’s a bit miffed that no one is making a big deal over her weight loss.
This is it. Dunham is just such a passive aggressive narcissist that it obscures absolutely everything else about her, good or bad. You just can’t see past it or have any interaction with her without being dragged into her gigantic levels of self-absorption.
It just makes her boring. She wants so desperately to be interesting but she’ll never understand this.
True – either way she was always going to complain about people commenting on her body/weight. She’s someone you can’t win with as its always turned around to make it about her and her need for attention.
Exactly. Laurie Penny, here in the UK, is exactly the same. Drives me up the wall.
Yup. Otherwise she would not appear with noted weight loss crusader Tracy A. WTF? I don’t disagree with what she wrote even if I wouldn’t have phrased it quite so aggressively but hey, that’s her style. But then she turns around and praises THAT woman? It bears repeating: What the F*CK? It’s like going on anti-orange-fascist rants and posing with Kellyanne. It makes no sense. You don’t want people talking about your body when all Tracy does it talk about bodies. Okay then.
She’s still just a petulant little girl who has no idea how to be herself so she needs other people as a mirror.
I also call bullsh*t on “weighloss is not a triumph”. Girl, yes it is. Whether for health, appearance or general well-being, it’s mostly done on purpose and it’s hard. It’s a damn triumph when you finally feel good. It shouldn’t define you but that’s a different issue.
*1,000. She loses ground on this subject once she showed up at body obsessed Tracy Anderson. Girl, you make 0 sense!
Bingo. When you pose with a chick who is famous for pulling somebody’s pants down and saying that you had no idea that it would be that bad since they looked so good in clothes (Gwyneth Paltrow, promotional story…ew) then you want attention, or at least in-crowd status with the weight loss cool girls. Also, Tracey Andersen has been suspected of bulimia due to the way that she describes her eating habits, and how her jaw and body looks. She is no role model for healthy behavior.
she looks the same
Really? I don’t follow her at all – but I see a big difference. She’s slimmed down a good deal, and toned up. She wasn’t huge or anything to begin with, but I think it’s pretty obvious that she’s been working out.
She was around this weight for Tiny Furniture, and she was almost this slim for a while about 2 years ago I think (it was shortly after she started working with TA anyway). She yo-yo’s constantly. If you ignore her for a few months she’ll either have gained 40lbs or lost 20lb.
Nah, she’s definitely lost some pretty serious weight.
I think she looks nice to be honest.
Raging hottie? When has anyone ever called her a raging hottie? I dislike her.
LD is not waiting for someone else to call her that – she’s doing it herself.
(And thereby suggesting that we all have the power to stop waiting for other people to crown us or letting them label us.)
Something nice: The insufferable, pretentious, whiny b*tch looks great!
I messed that up, didn’t I?
Au contraire, 10 points for Ravenclaw.
Tracy Anderson is the opposite of feminist. So if you are going to hock her brand of body shaming expect to be criticized.
Right. And don’t hoc her brand and then expect people NOT to comment on the product of that brand: your body.
I’ve done a few of her videos and can’t find anything to complain about- no body shaming. She seems to have a very practical, no-nonsense attitude that I like.
I have her book and I like it. It’s not what she does as a trainer, it’s all the rest of her behavior. Telling women they look like crap regardless of what they really look like, telling everybody she goes on binges and eats entire cans of store bought frosting, etc.
She is bad for admitting to the occassional binge? I actually find that very relatable. Even professionals break.
I think she’s definitely growing and learning. She was insufferable before. But now, not as much. She looks healthier which is great for anyone. I don’t know. I might be alone in this, but I’m digging this season of girls.
I’m with you on this. Though this might be the unpopular view here, I think the current season of Girls is really good. I find Lena’s weight loss inspiring, especially since endometriosis sufferers tend to have a harder time to lose weight.
I have endometriosis and go to the same specialist she and Padma tout. There are most likely different forms of it starting out mild, some starting out more aggressive. With gene variants people can come in different shapes and sizes. Research studies however show its more statisticaly significant to have a lower BMI and a bit above average height. Early studies noted in more in taller, thinner women more frequently. But it can happen to all!
Either way it’s horrible disease so be very loud and see as many doctors as you need. March is “endometriosis awareness month” And doctors recommended eating a healthy diet to decrease symptoms so Dunham should do it for that. Processed foods and hormones in dairy and meat do no favors!
Agreed. I like Girls although the season 2 was, for me, a big downer as the 1rst was so promising, truly original – then it tried to be funny and failed multiple times. But there are truly compelling moments there.
I appreciate her candidness, annoying as it is. It makes for challenging tv.
Stil fugly!!
What gets me is that it’s almost exclusively female celebrities who are lauded for weight loss. John Goodman could drop 100 pounds and it’d barely be a blip of news.
Really, tell that to Jonah Hill. And Chris Pratt. Or Liam Neeson (people thought he was dying of cancer).
Agreed. Equality is unfortunately taking to men’s territory a lot of the pressures only women felt in relation to their bodies, especially for celebs but also for us peasants. Lots of actors are scrutinized and criticized for their physical flaws.
They’re not scrutinized to nearly the extent their female counterparts are, though. Jonah Hill can have whatever body and still work all the time and be paid handsomely for it. There is an expectation that men get in shape and have the physique for their superhero roles, but the biggest differences is that they get to leave it behind if they want to.
Jonah Hill can stay fat and still work because he’s primarily a comedy star. Nobody’s going to cast him in anything where he’d be a sex symbol, e.g., a superhero movie. Melissa McCarthy works all the time for the same reason.
The men who go through the punishing physical regimens for superhero/action movies are guys who are fitter than 90 percent of the general population even when not making a movie. Hugh Jackman may not have visible abs in between X-Men movies, but he’s not getting fat, either.
The Penn Jillete, the tall one in Penn and Teller made news because of his massive weight loss. People even debated about it.
And Horatio Sanz! There was a surprisingly attractive man in there.
It’s partially because men don’t care when men loose weight and neither really do women unless they are big celebs. But women like to comment about each other’s looks all the time like happens here and the female celebrities give interviews since there is interest and they can get endorsement deals.
“neither really do women unless they are big celebs”
I agree but just adding that women are generally VERY forgiving of mens appearance. Tumblr is littered with fan pages of men who are anything but conventionally attractive. You’ll hear fangirls admitting that they arent classically handsome but theres “something about that guy”. He can be short, tall, bald, hairy, fat or thin and still there’ll be a vocal fanbase somewhere.
Women dont give other women that same courtesy. And straight men only interract with this subject to physically rate the girls. Ashley Grahams weight loss may grab a little of their attention but Lenas most certainly will never.
Men are interested in Ashley Graham, weight loss or not, because she’s attractive…and PLENTY of guys would love it if she didn’t lose an ounce. Lena Dunham is cute at best when slim/covering up that tattoo/wearing something not deliberately ugly and she has a show that few men are interested in, good or not.
I am a guy and I am also at complete loss what feminism is. Can someone please recommend some essays or articles about feminism for me to read. What does being a feminist and your body weight have to do with each other?
you’re right, it’s kinda ridiculous that body weight is an issue related to feminism. and yet, because women are subjected to so much scrutiny because of the way they look, it becomes part of it. in short, men are allowed to look more or less however they want and can be lauded and appreciated for other things other than the way they look. women otoh, need to be pretty and slim at all times. it’s like as a woman you’re not valuable if men don’t think of you as f–kable.
Men are not allowed to look however they want. People are hard on fat men the same as fat women…people just act like it’s no big deal because they view it from the lens of celebrity culture, e.g., “it doesn’t matter if a guy is fat because Kevin James keeps getting parts.” If you’re not famous, nobody’s interested in fat men.
I learnt on this site that there is a very interesting thing called womanism because women of colour wouldn’t identify with a very white and sometimes priviledged feminism.
So, you see, we’re all learning. Me as a white woman, you as a man etc.
My daughter is reading a feminist comic called Bitch Planet and she passed it on to my husband who loved it.
Edit: re: weight loss and feminism, there are many strands of feminism and some hardcore views (both from women and men) is that a feminist shouldn’t care about her looks or dress in a sexy way because it gives in to the male, patriarchal gaze. Some other strands of feminism will say that it’s about choice , that is, like men, we get to choose to like clothes and being skinny/sexy/etc. or not give a damn about it without any external pressure. It’s about being the actors of your own sensuality and sexuality and not giving in to patriarchal society as an objectified being but as an active sexual being with needs.
Ha, Bitch Planet is excellent and I’m reading it now too. It’s about a world where “non-compliant” women (which can mean just about anything) are considered dangers to society and literally shipped off to another planet for rehabilitation.
I’m not being rude when I say this but there is a clear definition of what feminist means in the dictionary. Weight has nothing to do with it and falls under a category better described as body politics of western society which concerns women but is not feminism. For instance there are body positive women who love their curves but don’t believe women should have autonomy over their body and are anti choice for various reasons. Anti choice as in not allowing a woman to choose birth control on her own or abortion. So those women would not fall under the category of feminist no matter how many “what feminism means to me” essays or think pieces they write. There is a clear definition and messages like Lenas cloud an extremely important issue. She’s not an oracle she’s a spoiled child with a microphone and a laptop.
Women feel (and are) pressured to look a certain way and weight has everything to do with it. Sometimes feminism is about us women, trying to break free from those pressures and accepting and challenging ourselves to be who we want and can be, without being shamed for it. Lena has been shamed for her looks and body ever since Girls went on air. Now she has lost weight suddenly it’s because she’s conforming to a beauty standard. Some people have thrown that to her face. She just lost weight – it doesn’t have to mean anything else but that.
Feminism is the idea that men and women are equal and deserve equal rights and freedoms. the nuances of that can change depending on the feminist, but in this case policing of female bodies is a common feminist concern. There are a ton of resources out there, but the learning curve can be steep and the entry points difficult to find.
Try ‘Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack’ by Peggy Mackintosh, its a crucial reading for any ally.
Everyday Feminism to find help about being an ally http://everydayfeminism.com/
Good Men Project for some male perspective https://goodmenproject.com/
I’d suggest Jezebel.com as well, but keep in mind they are criticised for lacking intersectional perspective.
I like Ariel Levy and Caitlin Moran for feminist authors, but there are a ton out there who do more varied or broader topics.
You and Jerkface are right that someone’s choices about weight or other things related to physical appearance have nothing to do with whether or not they’re a feminist. Misogynists and people who shit on equality can come in any weight and have any types of diet/exercise/booze/health habits and problems, and so can feminists. Lena Dunham grates but, the fact that “my losing weight doesn’t mean I’m turning in my feminist card” is even a statement she has as an option to use in one of her bids for attention isn’t totally unrelated to the fact that there are people both inside and outside of the feminist movement who think being a real feminist means a woman can never do anything that’s either seen as, or is a result of her wanting to turn on or appeal to whomever she’s attracted to. Diet/weight loss is one of the silly things that have been mentioned as proof that specific women aren’t feminists (along with wearing make-up, not divorcing a husband who cheated, and lots of other things)
She’s such an attention monster. Of course she’s OUTRAGED that it has been noticed that her body has changed. She could simply say “thank you, but I don’t like to focus on my body too much and I didn’t do it to fit in”.
But that doesn’t garner much attention now does it?
she’s annoying, but she’s not wrong about this.
i’m naturally slim so i never had to struggle much with weight issues, however there have been times in my life in which i maybe gained a little bit of weight because my lifestyle choices weren’t the greatest at the time and was dealing with a bout of depression, and i remember after i lost that weight (that really wasn’t much!) one of my acquaintances mentioning how much better i looked now, and i was like flip off?? first of all who asked you, and secondly a simple ‘you look good today!’ suffices as a compliment, if that’s what you mean to do. there’s really no need to go into specifics and talking about weight loss, unless you’re really close to someone and they mention it first.
She looks healthy. Can I say that, Lena?
Not a fan, but the weight loss and longer hair look good on her.
well i think she looks amazing…the weight lose was good to her…. and there is nothing wrong in saying that. I dont want to live in a world where we cant congratulate a young woman for losing weight, looking and feeling better…. that being said it’s a non-issue.
I can’t take anything she says seriously while she is standing next to the ultimate body/everything shamer, Tracy f’ing Anderson. Give me a break.
I honestly didnt really notice she lost weight/that people were talking about it…
She looks like she lost like 5 lbs. Big whoop.
Oh Lena. Never lets an opportunity to lecture pass her by.
You just know she’s been itching for this moment, when she could unveil her weight loss, get a response, and chide everyone for not responding a certain way. It’s her fuel, getting attention and then whining about it.
Agree that after Tracy’s history of body shaming, Lena should scold her instead of the internet.
I’m a big fan of her show. I don’t really pay attention to anything else. I’m so sad it almost over!!
Who said your weight has anything to do with wanting equal rights you friggin self absorbed weirdo?
Why does she make herself look worse than she is? She’s not actually ugly (and is probably more along the lines of regular person pretty), but goes out of her way to look repellant.
I understand that “TA” is supposed to stand for Tracy Anderson but it is just funny to me that Tracy presents her tatas surrounded by “TATA” on both shirts. Apparently I am a six year old boy, theeheehee.
When I was 19 years old I lost 25 kilos right before uni. I was sick of being fat (well, obese). I was sick of being “the fat one”, the “ugly one”, etc. I wanted to feel beautiful and confident, and lose all of my baggage. I did not do it to be healthy, I did it for myself and selfesteem. 10 years later I keep at it because of health concerns, too.
If Lena is channeling her anxiety and worry through exercise and she looses the weight it’s for HERSELF. Not her boyfriend, critics, media, fans, etc. I don’t understand the need to take agency away from her. I hope she keeps healthy and fit, especially if it helps with her mental health and other medical issues she has repeatedly stated she suffers from.
Not a fan if hers but I’m pretty suprised at the animosity thrown at her from readers of this site. She looks good and I see nothing wring with what she said. I don’t subscribe to her brand of feminism but Kudos for her for trying to be healthy.
You didn’t lose that much weight, sweetie.
She actually did. I watch Girls and it is very noticeable, especially when compared to the previous season. She was much rounder in the adomen area.
Why is TA standing so awkwardly? Is that the standard pose to skinny your already skinny self? I see so many actresses stand like that. It looks so uncomfortable. And stupid.
Her legs are clamped together above the knees and her toes are pointed inward. I was wondering why she was standing that way also, although I did read somewhere that the stance she is employing allows women that don’t have a thigh gap to look like they do.
I don’t give a sh-t
x4 paragraphs about how I really do give a sh-t
I don’t get what’s so bad about losing weight if you want to lose weight that she needs to give that long winded explanation of why she’s lost weight. I suppose she’s trying to do something positive by not sending the “be thin to look good” message, but if it’s her body then she shouldn’t have to explain herself so much. And to write that only draws more attention to the fact she’s thinner, maybe that’s what she really wants? You never know with her.
What…what the hell is she talking about?!?
She’s so annoying and vapid! How is she considered a substantial “it girl”? She’s stupid and uses the ugly-baiting thing (deliberately poorly styled outfits) to get clicks all the time.
I like her. Yes there are parts of her that annoy me – but at least she is not a cookie cutter bore like most celebrities.
I quite like Girls too – it shows me not to be ashamed of my own flaws
Fat or thin…she’s stuck with that shitty personality forever
Amen.