Girls never took off in my house. Granted, I only watched two episodes but can’t deal with the show’s hipster shtick. Yet I do like Jemima Kirke. She has a fantastic, level head on her shoulders and isn’t afraid to wade into controversial territory. She only does so for a purpose and not for attention. Jemima seems like someone cool to hang out with.

Jemima talks a lot about body image in a new interview with Refinery 29. She discusses the nudity on Girls and how Lena asked her to take it off (again) this season. She says Lena requested “to see some cellulite, please.” Jemima “was tempted to say no” but decided to forge ahead. She introduces the journo to her trainer, Cadence Dubus, who focuses on functional fitness.

The best part of this interview is about how Jemima’s mom passed on her dieting habit, which is interesting. A lot of daughters pick up on this stuff at an early age. I was crestfallen when my girl (at age 4) looked in the mirror and happily said, “Mommy, I look thin.” She heard the term from a relative who shall not be named. Jemima has some perceptive takes on how women treat their bodies in the mirror:

On body image: “I think a lot of women see themselves like Mr. Potato Heads. Like, if they could take this part away, if they could eliminate this part, they would look better. They don’t see themselves as a package. They see themselves as pieces.”

How she started working out: “We need to take the shaming out of the fitness world. I wanted to stay thin while pregnant. That was the thought. That was what I walked in for, and it didn’t stay that way. The first thing I noticed about Cadence was her body. I was like, Oh, she’s not skinny, but she looks so sexy, and she’s so fit. I was like, maybe I can do THAT. Maybe I can just be the fittest version of this.”

Her mom’s mixed messages: “My mom used to say to me, ‘I think you’re beautiful. I think you’re perfect. I just want you to be happy.’ That’s such a mixed message, though … even though she was saying she wanted me to be happy, it still came off as bullying.” She recalls going out to dinner with her parents, her mom ordering that the bread be taken away. “She would say, ‘Listen, you can have it if you want it. I just thought you didn’t want it.’ She knew I wanted to be thinner…and she was always on a diet herself. I think she meant well. I just think she wasn’t equipped … I think it’s important for women around children, whether you’re a mother or not, to never talk about not liking yourself.”

How she looks at her own body: “This sounds so cheesy, but it’s true. I try to look at myself as if I were a man who was really hot for me. I’ll see all the things that make me me, and [I’m] like, that’s hot. That’s how I look at other women. I look at them like, If I was in love with this person, I would love every bit. And, I tell my friends. I’m not doing it to make them feel good. I really mean “

[From Refinery 29]

Jemima also talks about her daughter eats healthy and flexes like Popeye after she finishes eating, which is cute. Body image is such a trigger subject for many women (and men). I feel like girls have a hard enough time growing up without parents passing on their own food issues. Jemima has a healthy attitude. She’s still dealing with stuff her mom said to her about weight, but we’re all works in progress.

Photos courtesy of WENN

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