Girl Talk: Booze, Boys, and Platonic Bed Sharing

Lena Dunham poses with her autobiography "Not That Kind of Girl" 

via Huffington Post

Honesty is a virtue we all desire but are rarely able to practice. Lena Dunham however is the exception, for in her new book, Not That Kind of Girl, she reveals to her audience the raw awkwardness that is her life. From uncomfortable sexual encounters to unlikely bonds of friendship, Dunham recounts all the embarrassing incidents that have occurred throughout her painfully unfortunate (and equally hilarious) life history.

In her first chapter entitled “Take My Virginity (No Really Take It),” Dunham gives us first hand accounts of college experiences everyone has had. She even delves into the ones we have all deemed too embarrassing to even mention. In a hilarious description of a cheese and beer party gone awry, Dunham recalls how a friends tearful meltdown caused her to miss out on finally losing her V-card. To add insult to injury, the reason for the meltdown was because said friend was threatened by her roommate after leaving a note that asked her to stop having high pitched banchi sex.

In another account Lena tells of how a houseplant single handedly managed to save her from becoming an ad for planned parenthood. Despite being thankful to the drunken frat boy who finally stole her virtue, Dunham admitted she was more grateful to the mini palm tree whose low hanging foliage managed to expose the condom that had fallen off mid coitus.

When Dunham discusses love and friendship, she gives reference to two of the strangest yet impactful relationships of her life. The first was with her online Russian pen-pal-turned-boyfriend. His untimely death was met with little-to-no sympathy from Dunham’s friends and family whose own . So not only had she  On top of being made out to be so desperate that she invented a fake dead boyfriend, Dunham was also the subject of persecution when it came to her favorite male friend bonding activity. Apparently many of Dunham’s friends and family thought it strange for a girl to cuddle with her guy friends for whom she shared no romantic feelings; for Dunham it was just a typical Wednesday afternoon activity.

So whether it was being rescued by a common houseplant or defending her right to snuggle, Dunham proves that both in love and life that she is no ordinary girl.

by Graeme Belzer '18
gbelzer@gm.slc.edu