Girls actor Lena Dunham has been criticised for comparing her Jewish boyfriend to her dog.
Published in The New Yorker, her article, Dog or Jewish Boyfriend? A Quiz, offers a list of 35 things comparing the two.
"Do the following statements refer to (a) my dog or (b) my Jewish boyfriend?" she asks.
"1. The first thing I noticed about him was his eyes."
"2. We love to spend hours in bed together on Sunday mornings."
Moving on to question eight , Dunham writes about "him" feeling judgemental about the food she serves him.
"When I make something from scratch, he doesn't want to eat it, but he also rejects most store-bought dinners.
"This is because he comes from a culture in which mothers focus every ounce of their attention on their offspring and don't acknowledge their own need for independence as women. They are sucked dry by their children, who ultimately leave them as soon as they find suitable mates," Dunham says.
Is she referring to her dog or her Jewish boyfriend?
"23. My grandma Dottie loves him and says he's a "good, good boy," the article continues.
"35. He's adopted."
Although Dunham is known as a writer, actress and producer, she is also referred to as a comedian, however, in this intance, many failed to see a funny side.
Writer Jordana Horn said in the past she found Dunham to be funny and "always enjoyed her writing", that is, until now.
In her article titled: Lena Dunham Equated Jews to Dogs & That's Not OK, Horn says: "Offensive Piece or Humorous? My Answers To The Quiz."
"To dehumanise people, one of the first steps is to call them non-people or animals," says Horn.
"You know, because apparently Jews are a group you can make fun of and it is deemed kinda intellectual and funny to do so.
"Basically, the boyfriend of whom she paints a picture is a weak, cheap, complaining, ungrateful, whiny jerk. To say that these qualities are obviously Jewish – and doglike? – offends me deeply."
And the reaction on social media is much the same.
How on earth did the
New Yorker decide it was OK to publish this disgusting
@lenadunham antisemitic garbage?
http://t.co/B56HwIZxX1 — Ben White (@morningmoneyben)
March 27, 2015
.
@lenadunham I am not your dog, and "Ironic Hipster Cool" does not give you a pass on antisemitism. Pathetic.
http://t.co/yE6eAr9NBA — Beedo180 (@beedo180)
March 27, 2015
Yay!
@lenadunham says I'm a dog. Or just whiny, cheap and spoiled. Y'know – a Jew. So fun!
http://t.co/A82yaSfOnh — Matthew Leader (@MatthewLeader)
March 27, 2015
Some came to the writers defence.
I laughed so hard at this
@lenadunham piece. Dog or Jewish boyfriend? Genius.
http://t.co/z84EPbD9Wb — Shauna James Ahern (@glutenfreegirl)
March 24, 2015
Dog or Jewish boyfriend?
@lenadunham nails it
http://t.co/IONH9fvjkI — Ashley Ross (@Ashbrookeross)
March 23, 2015
Read Lena Dunham's full article here.
