Girls HBO Season 2: Lena Dunham's Hit Show Flaunts Immorality

Culture

A line has been crossed. Undoubtedly, virtue and dignity are things of the past, relics of another generation. Girls, the brainchild of Lena Dunham, will air its second season premiere on Sunday, January 13. Dunham has proven herself an efficient taskmaster as the writer, producer, and director of the series. This is no small undertaking for a 26 year-old. But at what cost? The price of sexual exploitation and depravity come with a heavy penalty. And what's left is waste and filth.

Why pick on Girls when there are so many other television shows and movies utilizing the same tactics? Largely because the first episode was disgusting and more graphic than anything I have seen on television. To watch Dunham's character, Hannah, being used by her "boyfriend" Adam in such degrading ways was revolting. But it was more than that, as it further highlighted how this generation of young women no longer value discretion and decency, but revel in debauchery. 

What does this show say about our society? We're cheap and are proud of it. We don't value decency. We treat our bodies like they're a circus, doing whatever we want with whomever we like, no matter what the cost. I know growing up is hard, especially in your twenties.  People do things that they regret, and have to pay for them later. But is this an excuse to do whatever you want, throwing consequences out the window?

In another episode, Jessa, one of the main characters, thinks she's pregnant. As the other girls gather at the women's health clinic for her abortion, treating it like they're going to have coffee, the implications of this scene are realized. The characters talk about it like it's routine. Jessa ends up not being pregnant, but the implication is that life is not to be valued. And having an abortion is just a simple fix it for a problem that goes much deeper than the act of having sex.

In reality, Girls itself isn't the problem. But it does show the depths to which women and society have plunged. Whatever happened to waiting for the right partner, for caring about your body? I know we can't go back to another time, and no one wants to send women back to the role of strictly homemakers. This isn't the point.

But we have to care about ourselves, about the kids growing up today looking at these images. Every personal, degrading act we put our bodies through shows up eventually. Women used to understand this. When did we stop caring about what we do to ourselves? You cannot put a price on a life. Life is precious, and the choices a person makes today will impact their lives tomorrow in ways not understood in the moment. And no one has the license to walk around unhinged like an animal, doing whatever they want, whenever they want to do it. Sadly, virtue is as antiquated as a corset.