We Need New Millennial Voices

It might be time for millennials to find some better spokespeople.

The generation is known to much of the world as lazy, politically correct monsters hacking away angrily at their keyboards to express rage at non-issues on social media. But maybe that’s not the case. Maybe millennials just have the wrong people representing them.

Dunham railed against athlete Odell Beckham Jr. for not hitting on her at a New York gala.

Making headlines for youth are people like the Smith kids — Willow and Jaden, who are most often talking about gender fluidity, controlling time, and cooking squirrels on hills. Fellow rich kids like the Kardashian clan get press attention for their air-headedness, toplessness, and obsession with fame.

Worse than all of them, however, are Lena Dunham, 30, hailed as the voice of her generation by far too many in the media, and Amy Schumer, 35. The two were the latest to look like hypocritical airheads in an unfiltered interview published on Dunham’s Lenny Letter.

The chunk of the interview that gained the most press traction came from Dunham — a woman who has promoted vandalizing movie posters in the name of gun control and compared her vote for President Obama to her “first time.”

Dunham railed against athlete Odell Beckham Jr. for not hitting on her at a New York gala.

“I was sitting next to Odell Beckham Jr., and it was so amazing because it was like he looked at me and he determined I was not the shape of a woman by his standards. He was like, ‘That’s a marshmallow. That’s a child. That’s a dog.’ It wasn’t mean — he just seemed confused. The vibe was very much like … ‘Is it wearing a … yep, it’s wearing a tuxedo. I’m going to go back to my cell phone.'”

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In a write-up for Slate, L.V. Anderson joined in on the fun and suggested, “Perhaps (as the eternal rumors have it), he’s gay. Regardless, Dunham has tapped into a real phenomenon — men who really don’t know what to make of women who don’t sexually interest them.”

So a man behaves the way politically correct society tells him to — not explicitly hitting on women and treating them like sexual objects — and he’s vilified for it? He’s accused of both homosexuality and misogyny? Dunham exemplifies the entitlement so many accuse millennials of. What makes her think Beckham even knows who she is? Does she assume he watches “Girls,” a series that averages well below a million viewers every episode?

Had Beckham talked to Dunham or, heaven forbid, hit on her, we’d be reading a feminist blog from the “Girls” creator about how hopelessly depraved men are. Instead, since he ignored her, he’s a misogynist.

It didn’t stop there. There was plenty more whining and hypocrisy to come out of the mouths of the poster children for much of what is wrong with their generation.

Schumer complained about having to answer in the press for a staff member’s actions. The staff member, a former writer on her show named Kurt Metzger, had made offensive comments in reference to rape. Many not only put the writer’s words on the chopping block, but questioned Schumer as an employer as well.

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“I wasn’t even resentful of the connection. I was resentful of the lack of trust. Like, ‘Have I earned any goodwill with you guys? Do you believe that I feel that rape victims should be shamed on the internet?’ Have I built up any sort of goodwill?”

The fact that Schumer believes “goodwill” is what buys her way out of controversies is telling. Should people like Schumer and Dunham be held to a different standard of political correctness because they are so often mouthpieces for things like gun control and cultural appropriation?

It appears the public doesn’t think so. The candid interview held their feet to the fire — both of them. Dunham even apologized for her ridiculous comments about Beckham.

“I owe Odell Beckham Jr an apology … Because after listening to lots of valid criticism, I see how unfair it is to ascribe misogynistic thoughts to someone I don’t know AT ALL,” wrote Dunham on her Instagram account.

Related: A Boss’s Guide to Managing Bratty Millennials

Dunham whines about guns in movie posters and supports kids when they take a stand against sushi as cultural appropriation, yet she clearly can’t keep to her own standards. In a candid talk, the voice of a generation is just as politically incorrect as everybody she calls out on a near-weekly basis.

The interview works as a near-deconstruction of political correctness. From Dunham’s reverse sexism to Schumer’s shock at being held to the same standard as others, the interview is clear proof millennials need better representatives in the press.

Instead of Dunham, how about Jennifer Lawrence? Instead of rich kids like the Smiths, how about wholesome talents such as Taylor Swift? Or maybe we can give up on celebs altogether — and celebrate millennial innovators such as app developers, inventors, or business people.

Those representing millennials in the media and pop culture right now happen to represent everything negative the world perceives about the young.