Lena Dunham says she doesn’t want to be ‘the most’ feminist person any more

‘I thought my job was to be the loudest, most busy, most active, most present, most noisy, most feminist’

(Getty Images)

One of Lena Dunham’s most memorable quotes is said in the role of her Girls character, when she pronounces herself “the voice of a generation”, but the Hollywood actor has revealed how in real life, she is trying to distance herself from such claims.

The 32-year-old confessed she wasn’t sure what to do with her public platform when she was in her 20s, which resulted in her trying to be “the most” outspoken person she could be in a number of fields.

“I thought my job was to be the loudest, most busy, most active, most present, most noisy, most feminist, most, most, most,” she told Refinery29’s co-founder Christene Barberich on the podcast UnStyled.

Since waving goodbye to Girls last year and closing Lenny Letter, the feminist newsletter she started with producer Jenni Konner, Dunham explained how she is now spending her time focusing on her writing and “being a constructive member” of her community.

"It used to be [that] I thought my job was to be an important voice for women in Hollywood,” the actor continued, “an important voice for body positivity, an important voice for this [and that] in the world … now I'm like, ‘that's all great.’ But really, I just want to be a solid, strong connected friend, a good daughter, a loving sibling, and a writer.

“That's all I dream of.”

Dunham’s comments come just a few weeks after she underwent surgery to remove her left ovary, which she wrote about in a candid Instagram post.

“Yesterday I had a two hour surgery to remove my left ovary, which was encased in scar tissue and fibrosis, attached to my bowel and pressing on nerves that made it kinda hard to walk/pee/vamp."

She went on to speak frankly about the other health issues she has encountered.

The operation took place almost 11 months after Dunham had a hysterectomy to combat her endometriosis, which she wrote about in an emotional essay for Vogue.

She also recently opened up about suffering from fibromyalgia, a long-term condition that causes chronic pain all over the body.