Every woman who’s experienced menstruation can probably recall the first time it happened with perfect clarity.
Some ‘first time’ stories are mortifying, while others elicit barely a shrug. Lena Dunham says hers makes her “laugh too hard”, and she’s ever-so-kindly shared it with the world.
The author and Girls star was 14 years old and out hiking with her father Carroll Dunham at sunset when her very first period announced its arrival – by trickling down her leg, naturally.
As she noted in a lengthy, illustrated Instagram post, this was entirely unexpected.
"My first reaction was, naturally, that I had peed myself a whole bunch. When I realised it was blood I shrieked wildly- my first suspicion is always fatal injury," she wrote.
While teen Lena was busy freaking out, her dear dad was feeling pensive about the significant moment playing out.
"My father looked at me, misty-eyed. 'This, this mountain, is where we were the moment you became a woman. In many cultures you'd have to start birthing children now'," she recalls.