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People Need To Stop Talking About Lena Dunham's Weight

Carolyn L. Todd
March 16, 2017, 7:45 PM
Photo: Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images.
According to the judge-y internet, Lena Dunham can't do anything right with her body.
The Girls creator and star attended the opening of trainer and friend Tracy Anderson's new studio on New York's Upper East Side Wednesday night. The writer-actress made it very clear when speaking with People on the red carpet that her focus in her sessions with Anderson is not shedding pounds.
"I think for me the big thing was that Tracy just very clearly wasn’t trying to change my body,” Dunham told People. “I came to her and was like, ‘I have endometriosis, I have chronic physical pain...I just want to have a stronger core, I want to feel like I have more power throughout my day, how do I get there?’ I like that she was coming at it from that perspective rather than like, I’d like to shrink six inches."
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But the reactions to the 30-year-old's appearance are either celebrating her "drastic" weight loss or condemning her for it. "Lena Dunham looked happy and healthy, showing off her slimmed-down frame at the Tracy Anderson studio opening!" ET tweeted, provoking this response from a critic: "I am sure was happy and healthy before she slimmed down et!" CNN tweeted that the star "is looking more svelte these days," echoing other outlets emphasis on pounds shed.
But other people are missing the message in an entirely different, but still upsetting, way. Apparently, as an outspoken proponent of body positivity, Dunham is not supposed to work out or focus on her health. "I guess @lenadunham doesn’t really believe that all body types are acceptable," one hater tweeted, adding " #hypocrite." Someone else wrote sarcastically, "Hey congratulations on losing weight, @lenadunham. #HandsOff the body positivity movement." Another sniped, "Do you think @lenadunham used a scale to lose all that weight? Just asking… #hypocrite."
Let's get one thing straight: no one has any idea if Dunham has lost any weight, or how much. But more importantly, it doesn't matter. We know that weight is not an indicator of health, and that Dunham's intent was to build strength and feel good. Why the superficial emphasis on her weight? Celebrating her purported weight loss is saying thinner is better, a message Dunham is clearly not down with. And for anyone to shame Dunham, somebody who has a strong history of championing all body types, is just ridiculous. Step off, people! It's not your body. Let the girl go out in public without tweeting about her weight.
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