Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Inking Up Her Body Gives Lena Dunham A ‘Sense Of Control’

It’s common knowledge Lena Dunham does not abide by the Jewish law that forbids inking up your body, but she revealed over the weekend just what drives her passion for tattoos.

In a series of Instagram stories, Dunham shared pictures of her new tattoos and spoke out about how tattooing her body gives her a sense of “control.” While she didn’t elaborate on this sentiment, it’s more than likely that Dunham is referring to her public battle with endometriosis, the disease that kept Dunham from attending her Lenny tour in May.

The star shared two new designs, including a blooming rose and “Kewpie dolls,” which are characters from an old comic strip. Dunham doesn’t shy away from nudity both onscreen and on social media, so her new tattoos, like those of days past, will likely be no stranger to the pop culture-consuming-public soon enough.

You can go directly to Dunham’s Instagram to check out the photos, which are, as per usual, not totally safe for work.

Becky Scott is the editor of The Schmooze. Follow her on Twitter, @arr_scott

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.