Earlier this year, Lena Dunham got into a highly publicised dispute with Spanish magazine Tentaciones. After believing that the magazine had photoshopped a cover shoot with her, the actress and writer took to Instagram to call them out. “This is NOT what my body has ever looked like or will ever look like,” Dunham said. “The magazine has done more than the average photoshop”.
Awkwardly, Tentaciones ended up proving Dunham wrong. In an open letter addressed to the actress, the magazine revealed that the image had never been retouched; providing the original shots as visual proof. This prompted a major moment of revelation for Dunham, who consequently announced that she would never allow any other image of her body to be retouched. “I don’t recognise my own fucking body anymore,” she wrote in a follow-up Lenny essay. “And that’s a problem.”
Sticking to her word, Dunham has now joined forces with the body positive, New Zealand-based lingerie brand Lonely. Appearing in the brand’s new campaign, the actress – along with fellow Girls star Jemima Kirke – has stripped to her underwear for a unretouched photo shoot.
The company, which regularly publishes its new shoots on Instagram, strictly prohibits the use of photoshop. According to Lonely reps, it “aspires to showcase women wearing underwear in a way that we usually don’t see in mainstream advertising and the media.”
“Instead of being objectified, the women who participate in these campaigns – in this case, Lena and Jemima – are empowered and exhibit real beauty that will hopefully help women everywhere feel a little more liberated,” the brand said yesterday.
Learn more about Lonely Girls Project here.
