Lena Dunham makes powerful statement on body positivity with throwback Instagram post
Lena Dunham has shared a candid side-by-side photograph of herself on Instagram, showing how her body has changed between summer 2017 and now, explaining how much healthier and happier she is.
The Girls star originally posted the comparison shot on her Instagram story and later uploaded it as a standalone post, writing in the caption underneath: “TFW you feel it so hard that you take it from stories to feed [sic]”.
Captioning the image on the left, the 32-year-old confessed she had a damaging relationship with her body at that time: “I was very sick but fetishizing my own body.”
TFW you feel it so hard that you take it from stories to feed
A post shared by Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) on Nov 24, 2018 at 1:23pm PST
Commenting on the other picture, which was taken the day after Thanksgiving, Dunham explained how much more confident she feels in her own skin now, writing: “I am happy, proud and healing and so I should fetishize this body and offer her thanx [sic].”
The post was well received by Dunham’s three million Instagram followers, who praised the actor for her candour and for promoting a healthy relationship with her body.
“Thank you for celebrating healthy body shapes,” one person commented. “Beauty is found in loving ourselves in whatever shape we happen to be.”
Another added: “Thank you for always making me feel like I can love myself.”
It’s not the first time Dunham has used her social media platforms to promote body positivity.
In July, she won praise for an Instagram post revealing how much happier she is now than when she was slimmer.
The writer posted two side-by-side photographs; in one, Dunham explained that she weighed 138 pounds (63kg) and despite being “complimented all day”, she described herself as “sick in the tissue and in the head” at that time.
The other snap showed her as she is today, weighing 162 pounds (73kg), which she said makes her feel “happy joyous and free”.
A post shared by Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) on Jul 10, 2018 at 10:34am PDT
In spite of how far she’s come in terms of embracing body positivity, Dunham confessed she occasionally looks back on the older picture “longingly”, but added that this feeling dissipates when she remembers “the impossible pain" she felt back then.
Concluding her caption, she added, “As I type I can feel my back fat rolling up under my shoulder blades. I lean in.”
