Lena Dunham Stuns With Crucial Message for Gen Z: 'Voice of the Generation'

Newsweek

2 days ago

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The twenties—a decade long criticized as a limbo land of self-discovery, existential confusion and emotional turbulence. But according to Lena Dunham, there's hope on the horizon for Gen Zers who feel like they're drowning in the pressure to have it all figured out.
In a recent episode of the Girls Rewatch Podcast, Dunham shared a refreshingly optimistic take on aging that quickly resonated online. A clip from the podcast has since garnered 42,600 likes and over 313,900 views on TikTok.
"Your 30s are better than your 20s. I think aging is like the coolest thing that can happen to you," Dunham told hosts Amelia Ritthaler and Evan Lazarus.
The Too Much writer and producer—now 39—reflected on how far she's come since writing the Girls pilot 15 years ago.
LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 23: Lena Dunham attends the U.K. special screening for Lena Dunham's "Too Much" at the Barbican Centre on June 23, 2025 in London, England.
LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 23: Lena Dunham attends the U.K. special screening for Lena Dunham's "Too Much" at the Barbican Centre on June 23, 2025 in London, England."I wish I had better appreciated the level of energy and strength that your body is capable of at that moment," Dunham said. "Because I then have talked about the fact that I encountered health issues. Like, there's just a level of, like, joie de vivre to your 20s.
"And what I was stuck in was the cycle of doing what I wanted and then feeling f****** terrible about it, when I could have done the exact same thing, enjoyed it, and there would have been zero different consequences."
She compared "feeling terrible" about what she was doing to the analogy of a plane crashing, and that thinking about it not crashing, would not prevent it from happening.
But Dunham's key takeaway was ultimately empowering: "It's okay to just enjoy. As long as you're not physically hurting people, operating in deep dishonesty, or like taking people's agency away from them, it's okay."
Dunham is back in the spotlight with her return to television in the upcoming romantic comedy series Too Much, which follows a heartbroken protagonist—Jessica—who moves to London in search of healing and reinvention.
The show marks a new chapter in her career, over a decade after she became a millennial household name with Girls, the groundbreaking HBO series released in 2012, which chronicled the chaos of four women navigating their twenties in New York City.
Kamini Wood, a human potential coach and CEO of Live Joy Your Way, praised Dunham's message and spoke to Newsweek about why she thought it was impactful.
The intensity of one's twenties is often driven by the pressure to figure out who you are outside the context of family, culture, or societal expectations, according to Wood.
"It's a time period when decisions about career paths, relationships, and self-worth can feel so high-stakes," Wood told Newsweek. "There's often a fear that these choices are irreversible or that they define you forever, which creates a lot of emotional pressure."
In that context, Dunham's call to "release guilt and embrace joy" is both radical and freeing.
Wood agreed, saying: "True freedom comes when we stop performing for or chasing external validation."
According to Wood, young women are rarely taught that. Instead, she says, they're conditioned to link their worth to how productive, beautiful, or morally "correct" they appear to others.
Unrealistic beauty standards and rigid morality expectations only deepen this crisis of identity, she explains, making women judge their decisions based on what will be seen as acceptable or impressive, rather than what genuinely aligns with their own values.
"Women today are hungry to step away from all those 'shoulds' and step toward genuine self-acceptance," she said.
Social media users shared their appreciation for Dunham's eye-opening message.
"Okay she lowkey is the voice of the generation," said one user.
"That joie de vivre of the 20s is so f****** real. Is what I miss the most!" said another viewer.
"You couldn't pay me to be 24 again'—Hannah's Gyno," said Millie quoting an iconic scene from Girls where the protagonist goes to get a sexual health check.
"My mom says her 40s are her best years," said another user.
"I miss the excitement I had about life and the future, but I now appreciate everyday and I think I'm prettier with a few wrinkles," said another user.