If you were curious to see what Peanuts character Lucy van Pelt was doing nowadays, look no further than Lena Dunham.
In preparation for the release of her book Not That Kind of Girl, slated for a Sept. 30 release, the actress released a series of videos on YouTube and cast herself as a psychologist. Free of charge, Dunham dished out advice for dealing with shaky friendships, unfunny girlfriends and sex, since it would be totally weird if she didn't crawl into that territory.
So, slip off your clothes (she would approve) and listen in to 12 pieces of advice straight from #AskLena.
1. On feminism: "A huge part of being a feminist is giving other women the freedom to make choices you might not necessarily make yourself."
2. On body image: "For me, confidence comes from feeling happy with my habits and feeling like I can be proud of my life."
3. On friends: A reader asks asked if they should stay friends with someone who claims her weekend was ruined because of the reader's dislocated broken knee. Lena's response: "No."
4. On sleeping with bad people: "When you feel a lot of negativity towards yourself, you're almost sexually attracted to people who are going to reflect that back at you. When you learn to love and appreciate those qualities you've tried so hard to repress, suddenly that behavior is not going to be charming to you anymore."
5. On writing: "The personal is political. By sharing your own stories you're essentially performing a kind of activism that's very important as a woman."
6. On dealing with OCD and the stigma of mental illness: "There's something within you that feels like you don't deserve help, and you do."
7. On haters: "At the end of the day, if you're satisfied with your own current situation, which I really hope you are, you're going to feel the pity for someone who has to behave that way."
8. On bad sex: "There isn't a person who is 'good at sex.' Having good sex takes two people who want to make each other feel good."
9. On unfunny girlfriends: "I think humor is essential," she scolds. "It's right up there in relationship criteria list with don't hit me in the face and be vaguely attractive."
10. On death and mortality: "You, as a person who's acknowledging your mortality, are well on your way to a satisfying and fully lived existence."
11. On jealousy: "All the time being jealous of other people is time you're not spending on your own vision for yourself pushing forward."
12. On being too loud: "No one should be telling you you're too loud. They should be telling you you were too loud in this particular situation. Being told to be quiet is horrible. ... I think saying 'shut up no one cares' is the meanest thing someone could say to someone."
