Bravo, Lena Dunham.
Lena Dunham used her award acceptance speech at Variety‘s annual Women in Power luncheon to speak openly about her sexual assault.
The 28-year-old creative genius/feminist/Girls creator was honoured at the lunch for her work with a foundation called GEMS – Girls Education and Mentoring Services.
It’s not the first time Dunham has spoken of the assault.
In her memoir, Not That Kind of Girl, Dunham wrote about the night she was raped in college.
But speaking about it in front of a room full of women she admires, Dunham’s words were honest, emotional and raw.
“When I was raped, I felt powerless,” she said.
“I felt my value had been determined by somebody else, someone who sent me the message that my body was not my own and that my choices were meaningless.
“It took years to recognise that personal worth was not tied to my assault, that the voices telling me that I deserved this were liars. So as a feminist and a sexual assault survivor, my ultimate goal is to use my experience, my platform, and, yes, my privilege, to reverse stigma and give voice to other survivors.”
Related: Lena Dunham reveals she was raped in college.
Dunham also spoke of the need for victims of violence to talk about their experiences and not keep everything in.
“Trauma can make us narcissistic and myopic, turning us inward as we struggle with what we have seen, felt, and repressed,” she said.
“But connecting with other survivors reopens our world. Instead of scrambling for power by silencing other women, we’re able to mutually strengthen each other through collaboration and support.”
Related: Introducing the voice of her generation: Lena Dunham
Bravo, Lena Dunham. It’s brilliant to see a woman we so admire using her status to turn the conversation about rape on its head and focus instead on the emotional effects these instances of assault has on its victims.
You can watch the full speech below.
Click through the gallery below for more of Lena Dunham.
Lena Dunham
Top Comments
If it's true and there are many people who believe that Lena Dunham was never raped:
http://gawker.com/who-is-le...
No one knows what happened - only Lena and the man she was with that night. Your gawker article is mumbo and jumbo. Full stop.
There are hundreds of credible journalists questioning this.
They don't have that right.
100's please. Are you OK?
Would you like me to start listing the articles? Do a Google search. Lena Dunham does not have clean hands here. Of course journalists have the right. One man was named as the potential rapist and it was incorrect.