This morning as I did my daily Instagram scroll, Lena Dunham’s latest post popped up on my screen. It immediately caught my attention, as the words ‘slimdown’ and ‘DIET TIPS’ are not normally something Dunham advocates on her social media. The post in question was a picture of a magazine cover that had pictured Lena Dunham and labelled it ’20 Slimdown Diet Tips Stars Are Using.’
GIRLS Actress and producer, Lena, used the caption to post the real reason (or 20 reasons) as to why she has ‘slimmed down,' in an eye-opening list. The worrying thing is it's something we can all relate to in some way or another.
From anxiety disorder, to the U.S election, Lena’s list is not only an expression of all the shit she’s had to put up with since her career sky rocketed – it’s a list for all women who have had to put up with the pressure of losing weight in a clickbait world of diets and body plans. Her last ‘tip,’ simply goes on to say: ‘I have no tips I give no tips I don’t want to be on this cover cuz it’s diametrically opposite to everything I’ve fought my whole career for and it’s not a compliment to me because it’s not an achievement thankx.’
This isn’t the first time she’s spoken out about the wrongful portray of slimming down in the media, back in 2016 she accused a Spanish magazine for altering her cover image. However, she later apologised after they provided her with the images and it was revealed she hadn’t been retouched. This instigated her to voice her feelings about being unable to recognise her own body, and her complicated history with herself and Photoshop.
Then there was that 2014 Vogue shoot, the one where Lena Dunham featured on the front cover. Her shape was altered, and her complexation was enhanced - and Jezebel paid $10, 000 for the untouched original images. ‘I was no less than heartbroken,’ she stated when remembering how the public, and media tore apart the pictures.
What the underlining problem here is, we still live in a world where the media thinks it’s ok to publish content that could be detrimentally damaging to women, and men everywhere - and to atribute Lena to a role she didn't sign up for, nor does she want to promote. Just last week, Lena was hospitalised after the Met Gala due to complications from a surgery to treat her endometriosis (another thing she states her weight loss is down to), a condition she has been suffering with for years that means tissue grows outside the uterus, instead of inside it. Using her as a poster girl for weight loss publicly promotes illness as a means of diet, which is never ok. Kim Kardashian has fallen guilty of this after calling the flu an ‘amazing diet,’ in a tweet (which has since been deleted). While she may have been trying to make light of an illness, as an influencer high in the public eye, this is something she should have thought twice about.
In glorifying the real reasons Lena Dunham lost weight, the magazine in question was glorifying everyday pressures we all face. Statistics from Endangered Bodies show that the average British woman worries about the size and shape of her body every 15 minutes, and 66% of women are so diet savvy they can ‘look at a plate of food and say how many calories there are on it.’ Dunham’s honest list is a stark reminder that losing weight down to anxiety, ilness or stress isn’t an achievement, nor is it something to celebrate – it’s something to be mindful of, aware of. We should be offering help, not weight loss tips, to those who may be silently suffering. Now can we all leave Dunham and her body alone? Cool, bye.
Like this? You might also be interested in…
Girls Is Ending, Here’s The Main Lesson We Should Take Away From It
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In The Quest For Body Positivity, Can We At Least Be Positive?
**Follow Alyss on Instagram @alyssbowen **
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.