An episode that dives deep into the neurodivergent narrative!
Here’s what’s in store for today’s episode:
We kick off this episode by discussing Lena Dunham's EDS diagnosis, a condition frequently co-occurring with autism.
The reason HBO's Girls resonates with us so deeply is simple—it’s an autistic show created by an autistic mind.
We start by discussing Lena Dunham's art school background and creative writing degree—writing is a special interest for many of us here at Autistica.
Lena Dunham's character in Girls constantly faces rejection as a writer and exhibits classic traits of rejection-sensitive dysphoria.
Additionally, her film Tiny Furniture highlights the challenges with transitions that autistic people often experience.
We discuss her memoir, Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s Learned, exploring how its pages lend themselves to neurodivergent coding and how certain passages have been misinterpreted.
After being canceled over the passage in her memoir, Lena Dunham’s career trajectory began to decline—coinciding with the time she started experiencing symptoms of chronic illness.
At this point, what happened to Lena Dunham was essentially autistic burnout—she hit a wall, just as many of us do!
Our hosts discuss how autistic people thrive when we have the freedom to do our own thing and maintain a high level of control over our work environments.
When we can’t control our environments, it leads to conditions like EDS and POTS—often comorbid with neurodivergence—because of the heightened stress we experience.
In the show, which is loosely based on Dunham’s own life, her character discusses sensitivities to clothing and struggles with transitions with her therapist—both hallmark autistic traits.
Lena Dunham has undoubtedly been misinterpreted—she has expressed taboo ideas in her work because she doesn’t naturally pick up on social cues, which is inherently autistic.
The quirks Lena Dunham exhibits in certain episodes of Girls and in her personal life often come across as distinctly autistic-coded.
Another main character in the show, Shoshanna, is actually referred to as canonically autistic in Girls—and, well, we tend to stick together!
We also discuss the part of Girls where Dunham’s character attends the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and how these programs often trigger rejection-sensitive dysphoria and aren’t designed to be neurodivergent-friendly.
This leads to a tie-in with our Neurodivergent Narratives writing workshop program for our paid members of Autistica, which offers a PDA-affirming and neurodivergence-affirming approach to writing workshops.
We talk about Lena Dunham's marriage to songwriting genius Jack Antonoff and how he exhibits neurodivergent coding in the songs he's written for his bands, Fun. and Bleachers.
Finally, we discuss the autistic connection between Lena Dunham and Taylor Swift, and what happens when autistic people recognize and understand each other.
“When I tell people I’m autistic, they say, ‘I don’t see it.’ Then I say, ‘well, I’m a Taurus’, and they say, ‘that makes sense.’” - Matt
“A minute ago, we were talking about how exciting it is that she went to college, made a movie, went to South by Southwest, and got a film greenlit by HBO. Does this sound like an autistic thing that happens? Works 24 hours a day, wins every award, is a media darling, and then is fucking hated by everyone?” - Angela
“This is a common thing among autistic people, because when you’re young and vital and stuff, you put a lot of energy out there and then, for some reason, we expect that we’re going to be able to maintain that level of energy throughout our lives. We cannot.” - Matt
“We experience far more stress than neurotypical people, because we live in a world that constantly bombards us with sensory information, with data. We have to mask all the time. We have more stuff that stresses us out than neurotypicals do. So, we are more likely to have all of these things, but again, we don’t know if it’s a 1:1 ratio that, just plain being autistic means it’s more common.” - Matt
Did you enjoy this episode? We delved into how autism intersects with various aspects of life, from Lena Dunham's neurodivergent-coded characters to the struggles of navigating rejection-sensitive dysphoria and burnout. Tune in as we explore the nuances of being neurodivergent in creative spaces and the connections between autistic individuals, like Lena Dunham and Taylor Swift. Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and use #AutisticCultureCatch to share your experiences!
Related Episodes:
Taylor is Autistic -
https://www.autisticculturepodcast.com/p/autistic-podcast-taylor-swift-is-autistic
Meat Body Maintenance - https://www.autisticculturepodcast.com/p/autistic-podcast-meat-body-maintenance
Show notes:
Aaron and Taylor:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lena-Dunham
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Antonoff
https://people.com/jack-antonoff-discusses-his-ocd-rituals-and-late-sister-8654926
https://www.threads.net/%40oakleyjohansen/post/C8VvoEfS-54?utm_source=chatgpt.com
YouTubeLena Dunham: Short Biography, Net Worth & Career HighlightsOctober 20, 2017 — Complete biography: http://celebritynetworth.wiki/lena-dunham-net-worth/ American actress, director, producer, screenwriter and author Lena ...
Lena Dunham Reveals Her Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Diagnosis -
Lena Dunham on Body Image, Clothing, and Sensory Sensitivities -
Lena Dunham Discusses Chronic Illness and EDS in CNN Interview - https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/03/entertainment/lena-dunham-ehlers-danlos-trnd/index.html
Lena Dunham’s Passion for Writing and Storytelling in HBO’s Girl- https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/315/oa_monograph/chapter/2319659
Lena Dunham’s Blunt Communication Style and Public Controversy - https://medium.com/@isabellarosario/lena-dunhams-comments-on-chronic-illness-in-the-cut-draw-criticism-8c865d1ba3f9
Lena Dunham on Her OCD, Anxiety, and Mental Health Struggles - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lena_Dunham
Lena Dunham on Routine, Structure, and Creativity in The New Yorker- https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/lena-dunhams-change-of-pace
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