Lena Dunham is such a divisive celebrity, and with good reason.
But based on the story that she shared on Snapchat, we’re starting to get concerned. She’s showing off some tattoos and some classic Lena Dunham near-nudity, but her statements accompanying the photos have us genuinely worried.
Lena Dunham has tattoos already, and to be clear, it’s totally up to her how she decorates her meat prison.
While tattoos run the risk of making a mess —
(And we’ve all watched helplessly as Justin Bieber turned his first-rate heartthrob body into a tacky mess, which is totally his right, but it doesn’t look good)
— they’re also a huge part of self-expression and can hold personal and religious significance.
And sometimes tattoos can look really cool.
But Lena’s shared this Snapchat story and it’s the text that has us worried about her mental health.
“Been tatting myself up like crazy this month,” the first one reads.
That’s not super alarming.
Well, it suggests poor impulse-control, but Lena didn’t get to where she is in life by being reserved and cautious.
For better or for worse.
She’s debuting these two new pieces of ink, and they’re not really the images that we’d advise that someone get stabbed into their skin.
But, you know, that’s a difference of taste.
This one, of two Kewpie dolls dipping into a barrel, is pretty harmless.
Kind of creepy, if only because all dolls are creepy, but whatever.
Lena Dunham also gave Snapchat followers an eyefull of her blooming rose.
And that’s not a euphemism.
We’re talking about a tattoo of a literal blooming rose.
Though it is, you know, below her waist and all that.
“I think it gives me a sense of control and ownership of a body that’s often beyond my control,” she writes.
This is what has us concerned.
Now, Lena has endometriosis, which can be just the worst.
Remember Lena Dunham’s recent hospitalization? Yeah. That’s zero fun.
So it’s easy to understand how she might sometimes feel that she’s at war with her flesh prison.
But the reasoning that she gives for the tattoos, about them making her feel like she’s in control, is very familiar.
People who self-harm — whether it’s with cutting or bulimia or smoking — often cite that exact reason.
Control.
And it’s easy to see parallels between getting a tattoo and some of those activities.
Now, this seems way healthier than any of those other usual options that people pursue when they feel like they need control — in their lives or over their bodies or whatever.
And we’ll give her credit for understanding exactly what’s going on behind her decisions.
But is this the best coping mechanism or are there other, less permanent options?
We’d say that she should look into the underlying problem, but if she could just treat the endometriosis into going away, she would have by now.
She doesn’t seem to be advocating that others who feel as she does get tattoos.
But maybe her explanation will resonate with people who are fighting their own battles, and help them take a look at what they’re doing and why.
Just hopefully it won’t encourage anyone to get Kewtie dolls tattooed on their bodies. Dolls are for horror movies not for skin.
