Lena Dunham goes nude on Instagram to promote body confidence: 'Love it all'

Lena Dunham has laid it all bare on Instagram. The Girls star stripped off to go completely nude on the social media app in a bid to send a positive message about body image.

Sharing the candid selfie on 16 June, Dunham, 31, explained how she has felt increasingly "comfortable" with her body after overcoming another battle with endometriosis in May.

Dunham told her 3.3 million Instagram followers: "Just wanted to share that one of the reasons @eatingboys has inspired me so much is because of the way she mixes her humour and sexuality. I spent so many years loving my body but thinking it wasn't lovable by others- its sole purpose was to be fodder for jokes. I performed the insult so no one else could."

The TV star continued: "I don't regret any of it- that's my art and that was my truth- but now, at age 31, having been through hell and back with my health and other people's perceptions of my physicality, I feel deeply comfortable with the idea that this pear-shaped pot of honey is equally good for making people laugh and laying out like a Suicide Girl circa 2004. Love it all."

In the explicit image, Dunham bares her tattoo-covered torso with several large designs, such as a rose on her upper thigh and a chandelier beneath her breasts. In keeping with Instagram's strict rules on nudity, Dunham made sure to protect her modesty by strategically placing pear and honey pot emojis over her intimate areas.

It appears Dunham is bouncing back after her health woes. The actress was forced to cancel her Lenny IRL tour after being struck with another bout of endometriosis, a condition in which tissue grows outside of the uterus.

The screenwriter told fans at the time: "I have been so excited to see you all on our Lenny IRL tour. During these dark political days, this has been a ray of sunshine for me. My body, which I've worked through all kinds of pain for many years, just doesn't have what it takes to do this tour."

Dunham is not the only celebrity to have stripped off on Instagram recently. Model Amber Rose exposed her unshaven crotch in a provocative snap, but it was swiftly taken down by the photo-sharing app.