While sexual assault and child abuse are two thorny, nuanced issues, the conservative vendetta against Lena Dunham is as uncomplicated as it is undeniable. More troubling is the manner in which she is so utterly dismissed, an ignorant misreading that’s got everything to do with Dunham’s political views and, more importantly, her gender. Lena Dunham was not accepted as a survivor in the same way that so many young women aren’t. Similarly, her tales of sexual exploration could never be read as such by a conservative culture that actively denies the sexuality of young women in favor of their sexualization. To these right-wing critics, Lena Dunham’s every-woman sexuality isn’t just disgusting, it’s downright threatening—and therefore warrants an all-out smear campaign.

According to conservatives, Lena Dunham isn’t hot enough for Vogue, and she isn’t even hot enough for her own Instagram account. She’s a liar, a molester, and an all-around vulgar chick. From challenging standards of beauty to acknowledging her sex life, from standing up for survivors to speaking out against victim blaming, Lena Dunham isn’t afraid of much. Meanwhile radical right-wingers, when faced with change in the form of a lady who talks too much and wears too little, are almost comically frightened. Maybe they’re afraid that their wives and daughters will join the revolt, or maybe they’re just really not attracted to empowered women.