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Lena Dunham and Jemima Kirke are featured in a campaign to make lingerie comfortable.

"My fears came true: people called me fat and hideous, and I lived. And now I keep on living." — Lena Dunham

Lena Dunham has always seemed rather comfortable bearing it all in front of the camera.

From her countless nude/underwear scenes on "Girls" to her commitment to sharing unedited photos on Instagram, she certainly appears to be confident about her body. It wasn't an easy journey; it took years of wading through numerous insecurities for her to get to where she is today.

Not her natural habitat but she's trying her darnedest!!!

A photo posted by Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) on Jan 3, 2016 at 11:45am PST

"When I got out of college I thought, 'What am I gonna do? No one's gonna hire me, I'm a fat girl,'" she told People in 2014.

Of course, that turned out to be the furthest thing from the truth.

Dunham is now modeling for body-positive lingerie brand Lonely Lingerie alongside her "Girls" co-star Jemima Kirke.

Jemima Kirke applying lipstick to Lena Dunham for the lingerie shoot. Photo by Zara Mirkin and Harry Were/Lonely Lingerie. All photos used with permission.

Wearing lingerie can be an incredibly vulnerable experience, but the New Zealand-based lingerie brand is all about changing that perception.

Most lingerie (and the ads for it) are designed for what's known as the "male gaze." They feature heavy airbrushing, complicated hooks and ties and underwires, and models in uncomfortable, awkward poses. While lots of women might want to wear lingerie, many don't feel like they can for any number of reasons: They have the "wrong" body type, it's too complicated, it's not comfortable, it's not designed for them, the list goes on.

Lonely Lingerie wants lingerie to be freeing and empowering, something that women wear as "a love letter to themselves" rather than a gift for a spectator to enjoy.

Photo By Zara Mirkin and Harry Were/Lonely Lingerie.

It's refreshing to see Dunham and Kirke wearing lingerie for themselves because they want to wear it, posing with cellulite and tattoos and belly rolls and looking totally casual and comfortable.

Dunham and Kirke might be the highest-profile models in Lonely Lingerie's new campaign, but they aren't the only ones.

Here are nine other photos from the campaign, showcasing inspiring women wearing lingerie for themselves.

Just like the photos of Dunham and Kirke, the other photos in the series are unretouched and not meant for the male gaze. The women in them are successful and confident, posing in environments in which they feel comfortable.

1. Meet Hannah, an early childhood care student from Melbourne, Australia.

2. Meet India, a house painter and surfer from Auckland, New Zealand.

3. Meet Alice, an artist in her home in New York City.

4. Meet Erica from Far North, New Zealand. "I was interested in being a part of this project because women need to see each other and be seen as we are."

5. Meet Nicole and bubba Beau from Auckland.

6. Meet Anna, a fine arts student from Auckland.

7. Meet Ruth, Grace, Bridget, and Bonnie. "We go together like butter & bread, there's a whole lot of love."

8. Meet Anja, designer for Lonely Lingerie, and her dog Hank.

9. Meet Isa, a soul singer from New York City.

Now more than ever, we need to embrace every ripple of who we are, inside and out — not just in ourselves, but in others as well.

As Dunham writes on her blog: "This body is the only one I have. I love it for what it's given me. I hate it for what it's denied me. And now, without further ado, I want to be able to pick my own thigh out of a lineup."

GoFundMe Heroes

3 GoFundMes making school better through small acts of kindness

Images courtesy of Mark Storhaug & Kaiya Bates

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The experiences we have at school tend to stay with us throughout our lives. It's an impactful time where small acts of kindness, encouragement, and inspiration go a long way.

Schools, classrooms, and teachers that are welcoming and inclusive support students' development and help set them up for a positive and engaging path in life.

Here are three of our favorite everyday actions that are spreading kindness on campus in a big way:

Image courtesy of Mark Storhaug

1. Pickleball to Get Fifth Graders Moving

Mark Storhaug is a 5th grade teacher at Kingsley Elementary in Los Angeles, who wants to use pickleball to get his students "moving on the playground again after 15 months of being Zombies learning at home."

Pickleball is a paddle ball sport that mixes elements of badminton, table tennis, and tennis, where two or four players use solid paddles to hit a perforated plastic ball over a net. It's as simple as that.

Kingsley Elementary is in a low-income neighborhood where outdoor spaces where kids can move around are minimal. Mark's goal is to get two or three pickleball courts set up in the schoolyard and have kids join in on what's quickly becoming a national craze. Mark hopes that pickleball will promote movement and teamwork for all his students. He aims to take advantage of the 20-minute physical education time allotted each day to introduce the game to his students.

Help Mark get his students outside, exercising, learning to cooperate, and having fun by donating to his GoFundMe.

Image courtesy of Kaiya Bates

2. Staying C.A.L.M: Regulation Kits for Kids

According to the WHO around 280 million people worldwide suffer from depression. In the US, 1 in 5 adults experience mental illness and 1 in 20 experience severe mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Kaiya Bates, who was recently crowned Miss Tri-Cities Outstanding Teen for 2022, is one of those people, and has endured severe anxiety, depression, and selective mutism for most of her life.

Through her GoFundMe, Kaiya aims to use her "knowledge to inspire and help others through their mental health journey and to spread positive and factual awareness."

She's put together regulation kits (that she's used herself) for teachers to use with students who are experiencing stress and anxiety. Each "CALM-ing" kit includes a two-minute timer, fidget toolboxes, storage crates, breathing spheres, art supplies and more.

Kaiya's GoFundMe goal is to send a kit to every teacher in every school in the Pasco School District in Washington where she lives.

To help Kaiya achieve her goal, visit Staying C.A.L.M: Regulation Kits for Kids.

Image courtesy of Julie Tarman

3. Library for a high school heritage Spanish class

Julie Tarman is a high school Spanish teacher in Sacramento, California, who hopes to raise enough money to create a Spanish language class library.

The school is in a low-income area, and although her students come from Spanish-speaking homes, they need help building their fluency, confidence, and vocabulary through reading Spanish language books that will actually interest them.

Julie believes that creating a library that affirms her students' cultural heritage will allow them to discover the joy of reading, learn new things about the world, and be supported in their academic futures.

To support Julie's GoFundMe, visit Library for a high school heritage Spanish class.

Do YOU have an idea for a fundraiser that could make a difference? Upworthy and GoFundMe are celebrating ideas that make the world a better, kinder place. Visit upworthy.com/kindness to join the largest collaboration for human kindness in history and start your own GoFundMe.

From Your Site Articles

Three grown-up brothers create the most epic Halloween photos ever with their baby sister

Patti Schmidt/Instagram

The Schmidt family's Halloween photoshoot has become an annual tradition.

Two of Patti Schmidt's three sons were already well into adulthood when her daughter Avery was born, and the third wasn't far behind them. Avery, now 5, has never had the pleasure of close-in-age sibling squabbles or gigglefests, since Larry, Patrick, and Gavin are 28, 26, and 22, respectively—but that doesn't mean they don't bond as a family.

According to People.com, Patti calls her sons home to Point Pleasant, New Jersey, every fall for a special Halloween photoshoot with Avery. And the results are nothing short of epic.

The Schmidt family started the tradition in 2017 with the boys dressing as the tinman, the scarecrow, and the cowardly lion from "The Wizard of Oz." Avery, just a toddler at the time, was dressed as Dorothy, complete with adorable little ruby slippers.

The following year, the boys were Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca, and Avery was (of course) Princess Leia.

In 2019, they did a "Game of Thrones" theme. ("My husband and I were binge-watching (Game of Thrones), and I thought the boys as dragons would be so funny," Schmidt told TODAY.)

In 2020, they went as Princess Buttercup, Westley, Inigo Montoya, and Fezzik from "The Princess Bride."

Patti shared a video montage of each year's costume shoot—with accompanying soundtracks—on Instagram and TikTok. Watch:

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Chewy

Videos

Chewy spotlights the photographers who help pets get adopted

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When a pet is admitted to a shelter it can be a traumatizing experience. Many are afraid of their new surroundings and are far from comfortable showing off their unique personalities. The problem is that's when many of them have their photos taken to appear in online searches.

Chewy, the pet retailer who has dedicated themselves to supporting shelters and rescues throughout the country, recognized the important work of a couple in Tampa, FL who have been taking professional photos of shelter pets to help get them adopted.

"If it's a photo of a scared animal, most people, subconsciously or even consciously, are going to skip over it," pet photographer Adam Goldberg says. "They can't visualize that dog in their home."

Adam realized the importance of quality shelter photos while working as a social media specialist for the Humane Society of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

"The photos were taken top-down so you couldn't see the size of the pet, and the flash would create these red eyes," he recalls. "Sometimes [volunteers] would shoot the photos through the chain-link fences."

That's why Adam and his wife, Mary, have spent much of their free time over the past five years photographing over 1,200 shelter animals to show off their unique personalities to potential adoptive families. The Goldbergs' wonderful work was recently profiled by Chewy in the video above entitled, "A Day in the Life of a Shelter Pet Photographer."