Lena Dunham Thanks Hero who Altered Shaming Graffiti
Lena Dunham has been called pretty much every name in the book since Girls premiered in 2012, and fans are over it. On Wednesday, Dunham shared the act of kindness of one fan who isn’t afraid to fight fire with fire. The anonymous individual stepped up to re-graffiti a poster that shamed Dunham as a “slut,” Allison Williams as a “bitch,” and Zosia Mamet as a — yikes — “hog.” Thanks to some quick marker work, Dunham was re-framed as “sex-positive,” Williams became “beautiful,” and Mamet was simply a “nice lady.”
The act of kindness earned Dunham’s praise on Instagram. She captioned her photo, “Like @katiemowgli said, not all heroes wear capes. Thank you, kind Sharpie-er, for spreading your light and positivity. I appreciate it more than you know.”
A post shared by Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) on Feb 15, 2017 at 3:49pm PST
Commenters chimed in to express solidarity with Dunham and the show. “You are so wonderful and bring me and so many women so much hope. Thank you for investing your soul into sharing your vulnerability and never failing to let us laugh along the way. This show has saved me more times than one. Love to you,” wrote Instagram user ckammm. Another commenter agreed that Dunham deserves better than the trollish treatment she’s gotten: “You have forever changed what’s possible for women in entertainment. You are beautiful. You’re also a genius. Don’t listen to anything but your own voice because women like me are listening and connecting.”
Best of all, musing_mum raged on behalf of Sharpie power: “For every SharpieCock there is a Sharpie Kween to silence them.”
It’s fair to say that sex has been one of the defining issues of Dunham’s career, and Girls as a show, so far. Last year, she spoke to Refinery29 about her goal to show “sex that feels real” on the show. Of her own life, she explained “I was always sort of being the cool girl and the girl who didn’t care, who was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t mind if you call me; I don’t mind if you don’t call me.’ It’s okay not to be that cool around sex — you just have to be honest.”
The trolls, as they are wont to do, have just made Dunham learn to be more confident. “My fears came true: people called me fat and hideous, and I lived. And now I keep living.”
Let’s keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Style + Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.