Lena Dunham wants the sex in 'Girls' to reflect real life.
Lena Dunham hopes the sex and relationships that feature in her comedy series 'Girls' have the effect of leaving people feeling "bolstered and normalised" once they've seen it.
The show's creator and star has revealed one of her motivations when wrote the series was to show the love lives of normal looking women in more realistic settings than some programmes that have preceded 'Girls'.
If her series can make women feel more comfortable with sex, even its more embarrassing aspects, then Golden Globe nominee Lena will be happy.
Speaking in the February 2014 issue of Vogue magazine - on which she appears on the cover - Lena said: "There was a sense that I and many women I knew had been led astray by Hollywood and television depictions of sexuality. Seeing somebody who looks like you having sex on television is a less comfortable experience than seeing somebody who looks like nobody you've ever met. Critics said, 'That guy wouldn't date that girl!' It's like, 'Have you been out on the street lately?' Everyone dates everyone, for lots of reasons we can't understand. Sexuality isn't a perfect puzzle ... It's a complicated thing. I want people ultimately, even if they're disturbed by certain moments, to feel bolstered and normalised by the sex that's on the show."
Despite being willing to tackle awkward subjects on screen, Lena - who plays hapless Hannah in the HBO series - insists her real life is fairly boring and she avoids the fame game because she is a private person.
The 27-year-old actress - who is dating Fun guitarist Jack Antonoff -explained: "No one would describe me as a private person, but I actually really am. It's important for me to have a lot of time alone, and to have a lot of time in my house by myself. My entire life sort of takes place between me and my dog, my books, and my boyfriend, and my private world. To me, privacy isn't necessarily equated with secret-keeping. What's private is my relationship with myself."
Ahead of her Vogue cover, Lena is said to have been pursued by editor Anna Wintour for months as she was desperate to feature her on the front of the fashion bible.
Tagged in Anna Wintour GIRLS Lena Dunham