Lena Dunham Gained 24 Pounds And Couldn’t Be Happier

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By Nicola Lewis July 11, 2018

You can scroll all day, but you wont find a green juice, a yoga matt, or makeup tips on Lena Dunham’s Instagram. Unlike most celebrities, the creator of “Girls” doesn’t use her social media to show off a glamorous, perfect life. Rather, she uses it to discuss the reality of political, feminist, and personal struggles.

The actor, director and producer is no stranger to discussing taboo subjects in the public eye. Her fearless honesty and realism is plastered all over her social media (check out her candid and organic Instagram here.) A Tuesday morning post addressing her weight gain exemplifies this (love her or hate her) remarkable commitment to honesty and openness.

On July 10th 2018, Dunham became her own TMZ-styled paparazzo, posting a “before and after” collage of her change in weight and physical appearance between April 2017 and now. Dunham went through a public break-up with boyfriend of 5 years Jack Antonoff as well as a major medical procedure during that period.

She highlighted the contrast between public acceptance versus self-hatred when she was 24 pounds lighter, and the public disapproval versus the self-confidence and happiness she feels at 24 pounds heavier.

In making this distinction, Dunham succeeds in teaching a valuable lesson that our society, manipulated by unattainable standards of beauty, needs to be reminded of the value of mental health over social acceptance.

Dunham is acting as an advocate for more self-love and self-appreciation, and we’re in. She says she’s “happy, joyous, and free” now. Sounds like a pretty great reason to join the body acceptance movement.

Nicola Lewis is a summer intern at the Forward, writing for the life section. You can reach her at Lewis@forward.com

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