Leave my girls alone

In defense of my girls, Lena and Beyoncé.

I understand that I am weeks behind the zeitgeist on this, but I have been stewing and finally have to spew my words.

Leave my girls alone. 

They can wear whatever they want, even nothing. They can be proud, oblivious, fierce, self-conscious, sexy, fat, humorous, whatever they fucking want.

It doesn't matter if you don't like it. 

Lena Dunham as Hannah on the TV show Girls.

I find it funny that people give both of these talented and confident women the same amount of shit about their bodies and how they use them, considering how differently they are viewed by the mainstream media (and really everyone else too). Beyoncé is the sexiest woman of the 21st Century according to GQ. Lena Dunham (writer, producer, director, actor) has been called fat by all sorts and viewing her naked body was likened to "rape" by Howard Stern.

Beyoncé's Super Bowl performance was mesmerizing, she was amazing whether she sang a note or not. She danced her ass off and had a lot of fun doing it. I don't get people who criticize her performance for being too sexy or whatever other bullshit they want to throw at her. She was fierce and just what we all expect from a Super Star. But considering there are people who didn't believe she was pregnant and accused her of wearing a fake baby bump, I guess some people will never let her just be. Because she's a woman, even if she is Mrs. Carter.

Lena Dunham is a talented woman. Anybody who has watched Girls or seen Tiny Furniture knows that. She is also a feminist artist, who uses all of her tools, including her naked body to tell a story and push buttons. There has been so much written about Dunham's nakedness on her show: Pro and Con. I just want to say: THANK YOU for showing a real live body on TV. We are grown ass people, we can see a real nude woman without having to have her chopped, filtered and streamlined. As a woman, I want to see a woman having sex that looks real, even if awkward or even painful.. But never mind about me...back to the point.

So why do people write and blab on and on about these women's choices and appearances?

Beyoncé has the nerve to be proud and confident. She has the nerve to be a good performer and enjoy herself. Lena Dunham has the nerve to show her body, to have her character be naked in front of and with other characters, women and men. The nerve of Dunham is that she wants us to believe that men want to fuck Hannah, because according to all the is good and Hollywood, she is the opposite of sexy.

Because if a woman shows her body, it must be because she thinks she is sexy and is trying to get the attention and approval of men. A woman cannot use her body for any other purpose then for the male view and use. A woman can't possibly enjoy her own body, its movements, it curves, its beauty. That is really just not allowed. And woe be unto the woman who enjoys her sex, enjoys the body she has, enjoys how it feels. That woman is a slut, a show off, and needs to be controlled.

Beyoncé in her 2013 Super Bowl Half Time Show

So that's how Beyoncé and Lena Dunham are sisters. That's how they become my sisters. I will fight for their right to be naked, to dance, to smile provocatively, to be as alluring or as dismissive as they wish. I reserve the same rights. I hope you do too. If Beyoncé can't be fierce and sexy, then who the hell can?


You should read this too. It will give you some context for Lena Dunham's work (and nudity).