February 15, 2018

"The ultrasound shows no cysts, no free fluid, and certainly no baby. But that doesn’t help the fact that it hurts so bad that the human voices around me have become a sort of nonsense Teletubbies singsong."

"With pain like this, I will never be able to be anyone’s mother. Even if I could get pregnant, there’s nothing I can offer.... From August to November I try desperately to manage this new level of pain. I try so hard it becomes a second job. I go to pelvic-floor therapy, massage therapy, pain therapy, color therapy, acupuncture, yoga, and a brief yet horrifying foray into vaginal massage from a stranger.... Finally I ask my doctor if my uterus needs to come out. She says, 'Let’s wait and see.' Two days later (which has always been my definition of 'wait and see'; I am not a patient girl) I check myself into the hospital and announce I am not leaving until they stop this pain or take my uterus. No, really, take her."

From "In Her Own Words: Lena Dunham on Her Decision to Have a Hysterectomy at 31" (Vogue).

114 comments:

the 4chan Guy who reads Althouse said...

No little Lenas? Not lenient, some.

-6W

Cuthbert Stephenson said...

This is the apotheosis of Lena's idea of feminism. Women who aren't women.

Unknown said...

I think the world has dodged a bullet. The thought of Lena prodigy is almost as disturbing as her naked pictures of herself.

rhhardin said...

She's being hysterical.

Ipso Fatso said...

There is a God.

rhhardin said...

Take out the nursery but not the playpen.

- analysis for husbands

the 4chan Guy who reads Althouse said...

Lena, sister, vagina, pebbles. Still: sad.

-6W

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

My guess is Trump moved into her uterus, and this is all Trump's fault.

Martha said...

Dunham lost her longtime musician boyfriend and in December and now her uterus.
Sad.

MayBee said...

Even if I could get pregnant, there’s nothing I can offer

I'm not sure I understand this line.

I feel for her. I feel for her that she was in so much pain, and I feel for her that she will not get pregnant now, ever, if that is something she wanted. She can be someone's mother, obviously. There are so many options, if that is what she wants to be.

Wince said...

In August, the pain becomes unbearable. I am delirious with it, and the doctors can’t really explain... But that doesn’t help the fact that it hurts so bad that the human voices around me have become a sort of nonsense Teletubbies singsong.

The all encompassing distraction of chronic pain.

It took two years for similar nonspecific pain to kill my mother in her mid-80s.

I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Wilbur said...

I don't wish this on anyone, including her.

John Borell said...

I don’t like her, but feel for her. She clearly has mental health issues.

DKWalser said...

Why do we need to know this? I'm not a fan of Dunham, but I don't wish her any pain or suffering. Nor do I wish to be burdened with her medical history. I could say the same for most, if not all, media personalities -- whether I'm a fan or not -- some information should remain private. It's better for them and its better for us.

tcrosse said...

Poor Lena can never get pregnant, which means she can never have that abortion she had wished for.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Next, public vapors about the difficulties of adoption.
Then, a public scolding about how (she thinks) people are being subtly racist towards her multi-racial adopted children.
Followed by, a public screed about how difficult single-motherhood is, even for multi-millionaires.

Etienne said...

If I was a woman, I would have that done at age 18. Scoop all that shit out and save a fortune on feminine hygiene products, and ruined dresses.

Then if I wanted kids, I'd get a couple of Jap babies. They're the smartest in school...

Etienne said...

Maybe her little sister was putting pebbles up her vagina?

MayBee said...

I don't know what's going on with her, over all. Maybe something.

rhhardin said...

Woman: I sure wish I would've had longer to get used to the idea. You think if you got no uterus... ...and no breasts... ...you're still technically a woman?

Julia Roberts: Sure you are.

Woman: Yeah, you just--

Julia Roberts: You're actually a happier woman. No need to worry about maxi-pads and underwire.

- Erin Brockovich (2000)

Deep State Reformer said...

I'm always happy when women like her decide not to reproduce.

SayAahh said...

She should have seen Dr. Nassar.

whitney said...

I commend her decision

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sally327 said...

I would suggest possibly adopting if "motherhood" is an important issue for her but given how she handled things with that dog she took in, maybe not.

Ralph L said...

Troubled females have more female trouble.

I'm guessing. Are there studies?

MayBee said...

Also, who am I to question? But it doesn't sound right to me that the ovary resting on the muscle and the shape of the uterus- both things she says were discovered upon removal- weren't seen via ultrasound or MRI.

Oso Negro said...

Blogger Etienne said...
If I was a woman, I would have that done at age 18. Scoop all that shit out and save a fortune on feminine hygiene products, and ruined dresses.

Then if I wanted kids, I'd get a couple of Jap babies. They're the smartest in school...

2/15/18, 8:39 AM


Yeah, well. The flaw in that plan is that the "Japs" aren't exactly reproducing anymore. Unless you meant "JAP" in the sense of Jewish-American Princess. In that case, I doubt you would find one to hand her babies over to you.

rhhardin said...

I don't know the lady at all so am indifferent.

She was featured in the Oberlin Alumni Magazine once.

MadisonMan said...

Severe all-encompassing pain will just take over your life and you lose rational thought. I'm sympathetic to her for that reason. Pain sucks.

the 4chan Guy who reads Althouse said...

Vaginal massage from stranger: Me Too.

-6W

chickelit said...

Take the oven out of the ham. It’s dun.

stevew said...

Shouldn't Lena, and anyone else, be able to choose to have a medical procedure to address a physical and medical issue? A doctor should be able to refuse if he or she thinks the procedure unnecessary medically or that it would be ineffective.

The only part of this that bugs me is that it is a public pronouncement and discussion. Then again, I'm older and was raised in an environment that discouraged talking about private matters in public.

-sw

Lexington Green said...

Why does anyone care about this person, other than the merit or demerit of the entertainment products she makes? Fa

William said...

Even paranoics have enemies, and even Lena Dunham can have real problems.

I'm Full of Soup said...

I can't judge her in this matter. I feel very sorry for any young woman who loses her chance to be a mother.

Chris N said...

Someone very close has had to deal with both endometriosis and fibroids and it’s both chronic, painful and cuts really deep at what’s most important. Like others have said, the human being Dunham has my sympathy.

On the other hand, I think her ideas are still comprising to privacy, rule of law, liberty and civil society: I think the hero/victimization martyrdom complex of 3rd wave feminists (look at me I’m still sensual/sexual no don’t look at me rapist patriarch) harms us all and offers relatively little of value.

That Dunham can fuck off and go away. I don’t care.

Ray - SoCal said...

An option she could have done Is have frozen / stored some eggs than have used a surrogate.

Tacitus said...

The concept of checking yourself into the hospital and refusing to leave until what you want is provided should make any responsible physician break out in a cold sweat. Odds are that the chronic pain will be ongoing, the satisfaction with the surgery minimal and the chances of a lawsuit high.

Of course there is a bunch of stuff left out of this narrative.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Missing to the puzzle - How many abortions did she have before this? I'm guessing many.

MadisonMan said...

I enjoy I am Six Words or Less. MaxiTwitter.

tcrosse said...

Missing to the puzzle - How many abortions did she have before this? I'm guessing many.
Lena Dunham Wishes She Had an Abortion

Will Cate said...

It's a shame they cannot surgically remove her compulsive need to over-share.

Bay Area Guy said...

The commentariat goes harsh on young Ms. Dunham. As my teenager kids would say, "TMI".

But, despite the graphic, excessively detailed, clinical description of Ms. Dunham's plight, well, she might wanna consider motherhood thru adoption. It is viable and honorable.

dreams said...

Future suicide?

John Pickering said...

Here Ann links to a story about the misfortunes of a famous young woman whose background and achievements are alien to many of her readers, and without comment encourages her tribe to indulge themselves by abusing and insulting her. Well done Ann, always classy.

MayBee said...

Ray- she says in the article she kept her ovaries. Which doesn't make a ton of sense if she also says her ovary was resting on a muscle and causing pain. So she could still perhaps use a surrogate. That's why the line about even if she could get pregnant, she has nothing to give really stick out in my mind.

It seems there is much missing in her narrative, and a lot of it doesn't make sense.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

HOORAY!!!

wendybar said...

THANK GOD!!! The last thing we need is another child growing up with a woman like Lena for a mother.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Strange, aren't we told women are superheroes and it's men who can't handle pain/sickness?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Is it possible for reproduction to be consciously arrested/evolve out of our specie?

Recalling the talk by the writer Tom Wolf saying speech was the end of the line for us.

n.n said...

Is it a natural or elective dysfunction?

Planned Parenthood elevates the risk of infertility, and punishes the mother and child.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

I'm very sorry this happened to her. I wish her well. Good piece of writing, but I didn't believe the last paragraph or two.

Curious George said...

"....and a brief yet horrifying foray into vaginal massage from a stranger...."

Poor bastard.

AllenS said...

Take the vocal cords, leave the uterus.

Levi Starks said...

I’m inclined to feel compassion for her. In almost every hateful thing she has said about her societal adversaries you can see how much emotional pain she experiences. I believe people do occasionally have perfectly functional portions of their body removed simply because it offends them.
I might suggest that the pain she experiences actually emanates from her heart, but of course that can’t be removed.
This pain will all end when she takes her own life.

Kyzer SoSay said...

Don't care a whit about Lena Dunham, but I think it's creepy that she chose to make this shit public.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

What was her claim for writing about molesting her sister?

This could be another one of her 'performance art' exhibition, or something.

MAJMike said...

Well, thank goodness she won't breed.

n.n said...

Cysts or pebbles?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Is it the dying that prevents school shootings to be called art?

I'm getting off topic as usual.

langford peel said...

Lost her uterus. Still a cunt.

-6W

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

"Birth control vending machines installed in college campuses. UC Davis is offering students the morning after pill, condoms, and pregnancy tests inside the convenience of a vending machine on campus."

I'm thinking of that popular study that found alcohol and Tabaco advertising in poor neighborhoods had the effect of ghettoizing said neighborhoods.

Could drug manufactures, via these vending machines at middle class and upper middle class venues, be unintentionally signaling that pregnancy is undesirable?

Opinh Bombay said...

Another facet of the Roe Effect presents itself.

SayAahh said...

They shoot horses, don't they?
They spay dogs, don't they?

wwww said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Big Mike said...

We have only her word that she felt a great deal of pain. And her word on any topic is apt to be a good deal less believable than most.

sdharms said...

when will you get the message that we don't care about Lena Dunham.

bagoh20 said...

I think she just finally accepted that she could never have Obama's baby.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

John Pickering said...
Here Ann links to a story about the misfortunes of a famous young woman whose background and achievements are alien to many of her readers"

What are her achievements? Besides molesting her little sister, lying about being raped in college, and displaying her unlovely body on TV?

I have always found her uninteresting and extremely unattractive.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Why is it that Pickering, Once Written and other leftwing dullards hold Althouse responsible for the thoughts and comments of others? Because she doesn't delete "offensive" comments, like a petty little totalitarian control freak would?

Yancey Ward said...

If the pain was relieved by they hysterectomy, then it was worth it, regardless of whether or not it was real or psychological. My suspicion is that this was a mental illness- mainly because she felt she could so clearly identify the source as the uterus itself, but again, if she is free of the pain, then it was worth it to her. I would just worry that she will eventually work to have other body parts removed if the underlying cause is psychological.

tcrosse said...

Sincerest apologies to those who took offense at our callous meanness to Ms Dunham

Yancey Ward said...

tcrosse,

Victor Mature? If so, which movie?

buwaya said...

I suspect that if she'd had a few children in her 20's, as nature intended, her problems would have worked themselves out. Not her mental problems, probably.

Bay Area Guy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bay Area Guy said...

It is a bit mind boggling that a tv star would share private, sensitive medical issues WITH VOGUE MAGAZINE.

It's a poor choice in leftist values -- empowerment through victimization. I'm a victim, you're a victim, he's a victim, she's victim, wouldn't you like to be a victim, too?!

For most adults, a hysterectomy is a serious sober thing. You don't run to VOGUE MAGAZINE to spread the details to the public, unless you're a weird publicity hound.

tcrosse said...

Victor Mature? If so, which movie?

Blazing Sandals.

SGT Ted said...

Oh thank the deity that this vapid, self centered, narcissist cannot reproduce.

She likes the idea of being someone's mother so that she can be that persons center of attention.

John Pickering said...

What Ann is doing here is appealing to the worst instincts of the tribe by calling attention to a story in the MSM that most of her readers will miss, since they mainly read outlets like Powerline and the Daily Mail. Ann knows perfectly well that Lena Dunham, 31, represents an artistic, educated and cosmopolitan world that's threatening to her aggrieved, angry and baffled readers, and has posted the item to elicit her desired result: an outburst of disgusting personal invective that reveals more about the writers, and Ann, who inspires them, than it does about about Lena Dunham.
With this item Ann, far from deleting offensive comments, is in the business of encouraging them. It delights the tribe, and confirms Ann's emerging role as the echo chamber for the prejudices of her alienated readers.

Bob Loblaw said...

The problem here is Dunham can't remove the real source of the pain, which resides between her ears.

Bay Area Guy said...

"Ann knows perfectly well that Lena Dunham, 31, represents an artistic, educated and cosmopolitan world that's threatening to her aggrieved, angry and baffled readers, and has posted the item to elicit her desired result: an outburst of disgusting personal invective that reveals more about the writers, and Ann, who inspires them, than it does about about Lena Dunham."

Yow. Thatsa mouthful. Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the mattress today. We need to turn that frown, upside down.

tcrosse said...

John Pickering ignites the straw commentariat.

readering said...

Dr. Jeff Sessions would have prescribed aspirin.

buwaya said...

"Lena Dunham, 31, represents an artistic, educated and cosmopolitan world "

Not very well educated and not in any way cosmopolitan. That lot mainly talks to each other, and knows nothing or less than nothing of what a liberal education consisted.

I have spoken with plenty of recent English majors who could not, for instance, identify "warriors for the working day" as being from the famous speech in Henry V, or who Henry Fielding was, or who could not recite a line of poetry.

Artistic - well, to each his own, de gustibus, etc.

It would be useful to define, or at least unpack, for instance, what "education" consists of in this complaint of Pickerings.

JohnAnnArbor said...

Is there a reason to make something so personal so public?

Beyond crippling narcissism?

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Ann knows perfectly well that Lena Dunham, 31, represents an artistic, educated and cosmopolitan world"

Why throw in the "31" as if you're writing the lede of a news story? What does "31" have to do with anything?

"an artistic, educated and cosmopolitan world." Oh, yeah, she's a regular Audrey Hepburn or Madame de Stael, she is.

Well, there's no accounting for tastes. Personally I agree with Camille Paglia's assessment:

"Lena Dunham is a big pile of pudding."

Except I'd change the last word.


langford peel said...

John Pickering Pontificates. Still a Cunt.

-6W

Bay Area Guy said...

The noble knight of the Internet defends the demure damsel Dunham.

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

John Pickering said...

Why do I get the idea that John is the one guy that actually enjoys Lena's nude scenes?

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MadisonMan said...

Ann knows perfectly well that Lena Dunham, 31, represents an artistic, educated and cosmopolitan world that's threatening to her aggrieved, angry and baffled readers, and has posted the item to elicit her desired result: an outburst of disgusting personal invective that reveals more about the writers, and Ann, who inspires them, than it does about about Lena Dunham.

Is it any wonder why Trump was elected?

(And what was mentioned upthread: Why include her age here?)

John Pickering said...

Ann's readers proceed to validate my point. Full Moon is so upset she wants to assault me, if she met me, but can't figure out why she feels that way, showing in a sentence what it means to be angry, aggrieved, and baffled.

Somehow or another this cohort of Ann's readers has to be persuaded that the millions of people who are prospering in this country have an interest in ameliorating the social conditions that have made Ann and her fellow Trumpalists so alienated.

langford peel said...

John Pickering Condescends. Still a Cunt.

-6W

David said...

I hope she gets relief from the pain.

Bay Area Guy said...

"Why do I get the idea that John is the one guy that actually enjoys Lena's nude scenes?"

Heh, heh -- thread winner for Bushman!

While flipping channels, I once stumbled onto a scene in "Girls," where Dunham casually took off her shirt while on the dance floor, exposing her "attributes" to both her dance partner, and millions of HBO viewers.

It was such a horrifying experience, I strongly considered going gay.

Sharkcutie said...

Wow . . . you people are a bunch of empathetic people!

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
langford peel said...

Pickering virtue signals. Still a cuck.

-6W

tcrosse said...

A fair description of Ms Dunham's statements about the election of Donald Trump.
angry, aggrieved, and baffled

roundeye said...

I hate Ms. Dunham as much as the average bear. But she got dealt a really shitty hand and I hope empathy allows all to allow her a moment of mourning.

Bay Area Guy said...

"I hate Ms. Dunham as much as the average bear. But she got dealt a really shitty hand and I hope empathy allows all to allow her a moment of mourning."

It's a good, healthy sentiment, and, in principle, I share it -- with one large caveat.

How many people go to VOGUE Magazine to discuss in detail the ins and outs of their hysterectomy?

langford peel said...

I have about as much empathy for Ms. Dunham as she has for your average fetus.

That much and no more.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

Prof. A poll is wanted. Is the readership interested in discussing:
A. Lena Dunham's uterus
B. Sarah Palin's uterus
C. Both of the above
D. Keins von beiden

n.n said...

Sarah Palin's uterus

At the height of Palin's political prominence, female chauvinists exhibited a peculiar interest in her uterus. Not her child, but her uterus. Weird.

Bay Area Guy said...

I'm not comfortable with the imagery of Lena Dunham's uterus.

chickelit said...

@Col. Pickering: You're a fool. You've got the commentariat all wrong. They're just pushing back and feeling no human sympathy for an unapologetic liar, and one who denigrates men. Have you no decency, at long last?

Gretchen said...

Good! The last thing the world needs is a Lena Jr.

sane_voter said...

At the height of Palin's political prominence, female chauvinists exhibited a peculiar interest in her uterus. Not her child, but her uterus. Weird.

Actually their were many lefty loonie birthers who believed that Sarah Palin did not actually give birth to her son Trig Palin in 2008, but that she faked it and that he was actually the son of her daughter Bristol, who was 17 at the time.

Gahrie said...

Wow . . . you people are a bunch of empathetic people!

I'm willing to bet that I have more empathy for Dunham than she has for me.

walter said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
walter said...

"No, really, take her."
Finally gets her abortion...though without using the usual dehumanizing clump o' cells reference.

Amanda said...
This comment has been removed by the author.