information trading

Lena Dunham Despises the Concept of TMI

Photo: David Livingston/Getty Images

Lena Dunham, chief correspondent for dispatches on the state of Lena Dunham, spoke to NPR’s Terry Gross about her upcoming memoir and her handle on the spigot of shared information. In particular, she criticizes a belittling, ambiguous trio of letters, which threaten her very livelihood: TMI.

The term “oversharing” is so complicated because I do think that it’s really gendered. I think when men share their experiences, it’s bravery and when women share their experiences, it’s some sort of — people are like, “TMI.” Too much information has always been my least favorite phrase because what exactly constitutes too much information? It seems like it has a lot to do with who is giving you the information, and I feel as though there’s some sense that society trivializes female experiences. And so when you share them, they aren’t considered as vital as their male counterparts’ [experiences] and that’s something that I’ve always roundly rejected.

Speaking aloud an acronym for such a short phrase is also aggravating, on a much shallower level of verbal annoyances. People who say TMI are the worst, aren’t they?

Lena Dunham Despises the Concept of TMI