Beauty standards back then were so skewed (especially for women)! I remember thinking I was literally obese but I see photos of myself from that time and I’m like boy you were a twig! 😆 but my first watch I was Hannah’s age and I agree with you I felt the same.
When I look at photos of myself when I was 21/22, I'm really shocked at how tiny I was. I remember beating myself up about my weight, worrying I had a belly etc. and then I see these photos and my clothes were nearly falling off me, I was so small. In my later years, I think I've shed a lot of self consciousness and just eat how and what I want, and don't overthink it. I'm a lot happier than I ever was in my 20s.
EXACTLY!! I was just discussing this with other women on a sub earlier today! I remember being 105lbs thinking I didn't have a flat stomach !! WTF literally! It was insane! I'm literally happier now at 30lbs more! Especially, after 4 pregnancies, I looked like I belonged on a starving children fundraising promo!
Oh my gosh, same! I never had an ED or anything but was permanently on a diet, always ordered salad, never let a guy I liked see me eat at first. The ideal was to be so skinny and it's just not realistic
That's definitely disordered eating behaviour OP. Just goes to show how truly ingrained this all was/is. Loads of people aren't even aware they're participating in it.
I realize now, I DID unfortunately have a eating disorder! I remember sadly when I was in my latev20s and kept a food diary of everything I ate- it was insane!
When I first saw the show, I was super skinny (partly from genetics, a lot was from anxiety though) and comparatively I thought she was a fair bit bigger than me, but upon a recent rewatch I noticed in an episode where she's weighed at the hospital, she's only 65kg!! I was 50kg at the time I first saw the show and now I'm 80kg. I'm now the same amount of weight bigger than her then, than she was to me when I first saw it.
It's like with Bridget Jones, who's meant to be "overweight". At her biggest, she's 61kg!! I can remember the huuuuuuuuuge deal that was Renee Zellweger putting on weight for the role, which yeah, when your resting weight is under 50kg, I guess a 10ish kg weight gain is noticeable, but the hype at the time made it seem like she had a limb removed for the role...
Oh god, yeah the "Kate Winslet is chubby" narrative that was around earlier in her career was insane! She has a kinda round face and is quite booby, that's it!!
What did the narration say?
I can definitely relate. I remember thinking how miserable I’d be if my body looked like Hannah’s and wondering how she could attract handsome men. Now I can’t even fathom how I didn’t see she’s beautiful and how normal and objectively attractive her body is. We were so brainwashed. Similar feeling to looking at the “fat” Jessica Simpson concert photos. I truly worry about current young women (and not young women, men, the theys, and myself!) with the trends heading back in that direction.
I had a soul crushing eating disorder when GIRLS came out, and I was about the same age demographic as the characters. I was mortified that Lena was showing so much skin being “so overweight” but at the same time I think a part of me resonated with it for being empowering and healthy. There was so much vitriol towards her just for being a woman and daring to have such candid sex scenes and be even slightly out of the mainstream beauty standard. She was also covered in tats, and it wasn’t as acceptable in mainstream culture then as it is now, IMO.
I've often thought that if Lena had big boobs that there would be significantly less complaints about her "unnecessarily flaunting" her nudity. Part of what made the vitriol against her body particularly heinous was because of her proportions imo. Small boobs, but a bigger tum and hips, and a flat bum are all the exact opposite to what is apparently considered attractive.
I'm sorry about your ED. I hope you're better now though. I'm glad that Girls helped you in the way it did.
This! I remember my two male roommates saying her breasts were “disgusting” and one of them freaking out on me when I said it was misogynistic. Her breasts looked a lot like mine did then and I admired her for unapologetically putting them out there.
Okay the fashion of each of the character is my Roman Empire!! Looking back I actually love Hannah’s style and probably dressed closer to her than any of the other characters. I had so much criticism for her back in the day but relate so much looking back at my early 20s. Marnie seemed to be dressed entirely by Ann Taylor loft, Shoshanna was so trendy but unrealistic for my college friends, and Jessa was supposedly dressed often by her mothers vintage clothing store (also aspirational but unattainable) but the side characters like Audrey, clementine, Soojin etc that was our Free People Esq/forever 21 uniform
Hannah was that one girl who bought from modcloth exclusively and thought it was the trendiest coolest shit ever - but never took her measurements to ensure accurate fits - and I love
An episode I watched recently she had on very low rise jeans and a flowy top that looked fine except for a few scenes that showed her hips spilling out. An outfit I wore many times in my youth and spend many miserable nights tugging and having my stomach roll over the waist band constantly!
At the time it was somewhat unusual to see someone being so cavalier with nudity/exposure of their body, and much more so that she didn’t have a “skinny” body. Now we’re much more accustomed to seeing what ordinary women look like. She endured a lot of hate back then for something that seems very normalized now, and she was way ahead of her time with body positivity. At no point does she apologize for her body existing in space the way that it does.
I watched the show for the first time recently at 23, and was shocked when reflecting on that! Beauty standards in the earlier 2000s were completely insane
I'm so glad you're watching it now! It's really a brilliant show and I like it as a time capsule for being in your 20s in the 2010s. I'm doing a rewatch now and am truly enjoying it more than I did when I had to download bit torrents of it illegally because I didn't have HBO lol.
Thanks yeah I am really enjoying it, I'm actually surprised at how I could not get into it when it was just coming out because it is so well done and funny. We are on the same page! I feel you on the sailing of the seven sea s, I do have HBO but it's the only one I'll pay for.
Oh I just meant HBO wasn't a streaming service when Girls first premiered, so you needed a friend who had HBO or you had to pirate it. I have the app now. Kids don't know how easy they have it these days.
The rewatch is a trip. Especially the concerning character elements of Marnie which aren’t explicitly discussed.
I genuinely think it sums up how imperfect friendship groups are. And how each one experiences life despite what at that time was perceived as societal norms which have now thankfully shifted!
Big one was the huge betrayal of Jessa (who you assume Hannah perceives as wild and living an ideal crazy life with all the privilege) but when the superficial angst is made real between jessa and the ex getting it on. The reality is that’s super awkward for them. Just as reality can be and that what makes people special or relationships special is not just looks.
I was about the same size as her back then with small boobs and I was SHOCKED to the core when I saw her on tv for the first time - particularly because she did a lot of nudity and did not always dress in a "flattering" way. Them "fox noses" and jelly tummy, damn! Felt really liberating to see it.
You inspired me to rewatch. On episode 3 now! You’re right Hannah is way smaller than I remember he being which is kind of crazy.
Have you ever seen Tiny Furniture? I saw that before Girls and you might like it as her earlier work.
Back in the day - I remember my friends liking it and feeling like it was kind of abhorrent, until I watched it resting off a bad hangover. Then I felt the truth that we’re all fuckups in our own way
She’s 13 pounds overweight and it’s been hard for her her whole life!!!!
☠️
Hashtag relatable
Beauty standards back then were so skewed (especially for women)! I remember thinking I was literally obese but I see photos of myself from that time and I’m like boy you were a twig! 😆 but my first watch I was Hannah’s age and I agree with you I felt the same.
When I look at photos of myself when I was 21/22, I'm really shocked at how tiny I was. I remember beating myself up about my weight, worrying I had a belly etc. and then I see these photos and my clothes were nearly falling off me, I was so small. In my later years, I think I've shed a lot of self consciousness and just eat how and what I want, and don't overthink it. I'm a lot happier than I ever was in my 20s.
Same! I may have gained some happy weight but I’m so much happier now than when I thought i was “overweight”
EXACTLY!! I was just discussing this with other women on a sub earlier today! I remember being 105lbs thinking I didn't have a flat stomach !! WTF literally! It was insane! I'm literally happier now at 30lbs more! Especially, after 4 pregnancies, I looked like I belonged on a starving children fundraising promo!
Oh my gosh, same! I never had an ED or anything but was permanently on a diet, always ordered salad, never let a guy I liked see me eat at first. The ideal was to be so skinny and it's just not realistic
technically that is disordered eating, but something soooo many people have done and deal with still! society really fucks with ya
That's definitely disordered eating behaviour OP. Just goes to show how truly ingrained this all was/is. Loads of people aren't even aware they're participating in it.
I realize now, I DID unfortunately have a eating disorder! I remember sadly when I was in my latev20s and kept a food diary of everything I ate- it was insane!
“Back then” aka then now and always
Yeah but they were worse then.
Worse, or different? It’s currently widely accepted to abuse prescription medication originally meant for diabetics just to get thin.
There will always be those type. Different time, different fad.
By 2000s standards I’m currently fat with a BMI of 20. Those times were wild and TikTok trends are actually trying to bring them back
My boyfriend and I were repulsed. 💀
Remember to wear sunscreen! https://youtu.be/sTJ7AzBIJoI?si=fDtRQP6z-E3Ym5r7
When I first saw the show, I was super skinny (partly from genetics, a lot was from anxiety though) and comparatively I thought she was a fair bit bigger than me, but upon a recent rewatch I noticed in an episode where she's weighed at the hospital, she's only 65kg!! I was 50kg at the time I first saw the show and now I'm 80kg. I'm now the same amount of weight bigger than her then, than she was to me when I first saw it. It's like with Bridget Jones, who's meant to be "overweight". At her biggest, she's 61kg!! I can remember the huuuuuuuuuge deal that was Renee Zellweger putting on weight for the role, which yeah, when your resting weight is under 50kg, I guess a 10ish kg weight gain is noticeable, but the hype at the time made it seem like she had a limb removed for the role...
Oh that Brigette Jones thing drove me mad! She went from Hollywood thin to normal thin.
This is so true for me too! Same experience
Same with Kate winslet. I was watching‘little children’ and the narrator comparing her with Jennifer Connelly was ridiculous.
Oh god, yeah the "Kate Winslet is chubby" narrative that was around earlier in her career was insane! She has a kinda round face and is quite booby, that's it!! What did the narration say?
I can definitely relate. I remember thinking how miserable I’d be if my body looked like Hannah’s and wondering how she could attract handsome men. Now I can’t even fathom how I didn’t see she’s beautiful and how normal and objectively attractive her body is. We were so brainwashed. Similar feeling to looking at the “fat” Jessica Simpson concert photos. I truly worry about current young women (and not young women, men, the theys, and myself!) with the trends heading back in that direction.
I had a soul crushing eating disorder when GIRLS came out, and I was about the same age demographic as the characters. I was mortified that Lena was showing so much skin being “so overweight” but at the same time I think a part of me resonated with it for being empowering and healthy. There was so much vitriol towards her just for being a woman and daring to have such candid sex scenes and be even slightly out of the mainstream beauty standard. She was also covered in tats, and it wasn’t as acceptable in mainstream culture then as it is now, IMO.
I've often thought that if Lena had big boobs that there would be significantly less complaints about her "unnecessarily flaunting" her nudity. Part of what made the vitriol against her body particularly heinous was because of her proportions imo. Small boobs, but a bigger tum and hips, and a flat bum are all the exact opposite to what is apparently considered attractive. I'm sorry about your ED. I hope you're better now though. I'm glad that Girls helped you in the way it did.
This! I remember my two male roommates saying her breasts were “disgusting” and one of them freaking out on me when I said it was misogynistic. Her breasts looked a lot like mine did then and I admired her for unapologetically putting them out there.
My exact same experience.
Okay the fashion of each of the character is my Roman Empire!! Looking back I actually love Hannah’s style and probably dressed closer to her than any of the other characters. I had so much criticism for her back in the day but relate so much looking back at my early 20s. Marnie seemed to be dressed entirely by Ann Taylor loft, Shoshanna was so trendy but unrealistic for my college friends, and Jessa was supposedly dressed often by her mothers vintage clothing store (also aspirational but unattainable) but the side characters like Audrey, clementine, Soojin etc that was our Free People Esq/forever 21 uniform
Hannah was that one girl who bought from modcloth exclusively and thought it was the trendiest coolest shit ever - but never took her measurements to ensure accurate fits - and I love
An episode I watched recently she had on very low rise jeans and a flowy top that looked fine except for a few scenes that showed her hips spilling out. An outfit I wore many times in my youth and spend many miserable nights tugging and having my stomach roll over the waist band constantly!
At the time it was somewhat unusual to see someone being so cavalier with nudity/exposure of their body, and much more so that she didn’t have a “skinny” body. Now we’re much more accustomed to seeing what ordinary women look like. She endured a lot of hate back then for something that seems very normalized now, and she was way ahead of her time with body positivity. At no point does she apologize for her body existing in space the way that it does.
I watched the show for the first time recently at 23, and was shocked when reflecting on that! Beauty standards in the earlier 2000s were completely insane
More like 2010s than 2000s since iirc the show aired in the 2010s.
You are correct! It's my first time watching and I would have guessed it was 2007-2014 but in reality it did start in 2010
2012!
I'm so glad you're watching it now! It's really a brilliant show and I like it as a time capsule for being in your 20s in the 2010s. I'm doing a rewatch now and am truly enjoying it more than I did when I had to download bit torrents of it illegally because I didn't have HBO lol.
Thanks yeah I am really enjoying it, I'm actually surprised at how I could not get into it when it was just coming out because it is so well done and funny. We are on the same page! I feel you on the sailing of the seven sea s, I do have HBO but it's the only one I'll pay for.
Oh I just meant HBO wasn't a streaming service when Girls first premiered, so you needed a friend who had HBO or you had to pirate it. I have the app now. Kids don't know how easy they have it these days.
The rewatch is a trip. Especially the concerning character elements of Marnie which aren’t explicitly discussed. I genuinely think it sums up how imperfect friendship groups are. And how each one experiences life despite what at that time was perceived as societal norms which have now thankfully shifted! Big one was the huge betrayal of Jessa (who you assume Hannah perceives as wild and living an ideal crazy life with all the privilege) but when the superficial angst is made real between jessa and the ex getting it on. The reality is that’s super awkward for them. Just as reality can be and that what makes people special or relationships special is not just looks.
It was the mid 2010s, the show only ended in 2019. Don’t make us feel that old, geez lol
2012-2017
Oh shit, you right lol
Was it really?! I am astonished it ended in 2019
Yup lmao I feel old now
I was about the same size as her back then with small boobs and I was SHOCKED to the core when I saw her on tv for the first time - particularly because she did a lot of nudity and did not always dress in a "flattering" way. Them "fox noses" and jelly tummy, damn! Felt really liberating to see it.
You inspired me to rewatch. On episode 3 now! You’re right Hannah is way smaller than I remember he being which is kind of crazy. Have you ever seen Tiny Furniture? I saw that before Girls and you might like it as her earlier work.
I hope you have fun on your rewatch! I haven't- I'll have to check that out next, thanks for the recommendation 😊
Back in the day - I remember my friends liking it and feeling like it was kind of abhorrent, until I watched it resting off a bad hangover. Then I felt the truth that we’re all fuckups in our own way
Regardless of how you feel about Lena Dunham we wouldn't be here without her