An unfair, cruel, too-high standard only applied to white feminists, judging by this thread.

Seriously. Again, let's recite the story of "Awkward Black Girl", a woman who created a show, and when Hollywood expressed interest in it, only did so assuming they made the protagonist either A.) less black or B.) white altogether. It's not like TV's waiting for minorities to finally step up and make the programs.…

"I think the accusations of limited world view, myopia, and racial homogeneity have less to do with Lena Dunham and more to do with HBO and television at large, persistently giving us affluent white New Yorks that function as some kind of revisionist fantasy. So it's understandable when people started hearing about…

Sweet god, this.

You... you do comprehend that "The Cosby Show" was revolutionary because it depicted a successful, not impoverished all-black family? That that depiction DID NOT EXIST prior to that show, and that's what made it revolutionary, right? That in the vast majority of cases, shows with primarily minority casts are the…

Oh god, I remember reading about that. I think she said she met with two networks or producers. One wanted to make the character light-skinned, another wanted to make her white outright, which is just fucking jaw-dropping. Like, I would've expected that to be a "30 Rock" gag.

Not just softcore porn, but softcore porn about the idle rich. It's like "The Great Gatsby" without the aching emptiness.

Thanks for this. I've never gotten to "But it's so haaaaaaaaaaard and I'll get criticized!" defense. I'm a dude. I am not a woman. I will never be a woman, and I have not experienced a woman's life and experiences. This does not mean because of that, I get to exclude all women from my work because "what if I got it…

Again, there is outrage, it's just not appearing on "Fresh Air".

Can we continue advocating for diversity in television while simultaneously noting that "Girls" continues a hoary old trend? I don't think anyone's asking for Dunham to "fix" all of television and media. I think it's become a flashpoint because people are frustrated at the same-old-same-old happening over and over…

Well, they're only "legitimate" when we're arguing against big bad conservatives. Progressives cannot possibly have racial issues to work through. Because they are progressive. It's impossible. It's like teaching a Penguin to swim. You can't teach a penguin to swim! It already swims, because it's a penguin! And it's…

What really gets me are the sheer number of people defending her by saying "let's just let her write what she knows and find some real shit to bitch about later."

I thought her response was great, and very reasonable. I really hope she comes good on this, without betraying the honesty she wants to speak from.

Again, for everyone saying that "How I Met Your Mother" and the like haven't been criticized like this...

You could argue it's gotten worse. Television in the early to mid-90s had significantly more diversity, even if it was overwhelmingly targeted at the black audience. Make the complaint now, and shut up, because you're being overly critical, and you're the racist for bringing up race, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

All those shows have been criticized, in many places (hell, check out Racialicious), you just haven't seen it.

This has been my takeaway. A whole lot of anti-racist allies have been peddling the "shut up and stop whining minorities" line over this. Hell, I thought she sounded very reasonable, and I totally take her at her word and want to see what's coming down the pipe.

I can imagine. I mean... it's a difference colored sash, belt, and Magneto's head. That's it. EVERYTHING ELSE is EXACTLY the same. I was hoping they were trying to make some kind of point/parallel with the... Spanish... Monarchy?

Wow... that's... really obvious. That has to be intended, right?

My god, I can't believe I'm meeting someone else who knows about her.