Lena Dunham is not the victim of a far-right smear campaign. Nor are she and her sister being attacked by a heteronormative culture policing the sexual self-expression of young female children.
In actuality, The 28-year-old’s troubles have been brought on by something far less spectacular, but not altogether surprising.
Dunham is a shining example of what happens when “edgy” writing goes over the edge.
Lena Dunham is learning the hard way that you CAN’T just write whatever you want for shock value and expect people to not be shocked.
The problem is that Dunham is now getting more attention for her notoriously off-colored commentary than she as an entitled white feminist is used to handling.
The right wing news story that I molested my little sister isn't just LOL- it's really fucking upsetting and disgusting.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) November 1, 2014
And by the way, if you were a little kid and never looked at another little kid's vagina, well, congrats to you.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) November 1, 2014
I told a story about being a weird 7 year old. I bet you have some too, old men, that I'd rather not hear. And yes, this is a rage spiral.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) November 1, 2014
Rather than take responsibility for her chosen mode of self-expression, Lena Dunham has retreated back into her entitlement bubble where everyone else is to blame for not getting it.
Oh Lena, Lena, Lena…
Did she really think including an anecdote in her book about exploring her then infant sister’s genitals wouldn’t raise eyebrows?
What's really behind the right's allegations that Lena Dunham sexually abused her sister http://t.co/bpzEVgiJKr pic.twitter.com/4ZkOySFB5S
— Salon.com (@Salon) November 4, 2014
Even if the uncomfortable passage about exploring Grace’s infant body were to be let go, there were other sections that were also disturbing to readers:
….Three pieces of candy if I could kiss [Grace] on the lips for five seconds … anything a sexual predator might do to woo a small suburban girl I was trying.
She also spoke in her book of being a preteen and masturbating next to Grace. Had she never brought up the words “sexual predator”, the reader would likely have taken it as a hilariously embarrassing story. Possibly one that he or she could relate to!
However, when you use emotionally evocative words like “sexual predator” to paint a picture, the action taints everything and anything—An inevitable turn of events when talking about individuals that are among the most disturbing and terrifying people on Earth.
Child molestation and child sexual predators are always serious topics of discussion. They must be treated with the utmost sensitivity and care.
It must also be said that the victims if these heinous acts deserve better than being used in such a blase manner by Dunham in her writing.
A more sensitive and emotionally intelligent writer would know this, and have handily avoided this problem.
Will this scandal signal the end of Lena Dunham’s fame? It’s too early to say.
But one can only hope that Lena Dunham will at least halfway consider in the future exactly what she writes about and then more carefully consider her reach.