Lena Dunham asks Hillary Clinton: are you a feminist? 'Yes, absolutely'

Girls creator sits down with Democratic frontrunner and the two discuss why anyone who believes in equal rights is a feminist

In a move seemingly designed to help her connect with millennial women, Hillary Clinton sat down with Girls creator Lena Dunham for an interview to be broadcast in full next Tuesday

The Democratic presidential frontrunner – whose recent efforts to court this demographic include joining Snapchat and taking selfies with Kim Kardashian – was asked: “do you consider yourself a feminist?” in a first clip of the interviewobtained by Politico.

“Yes,” replied Clinton, who appeared relaxed and happy in Dunham’s company. “Absolutely. You know, I’m always a little bit puzzled when any woman of whatever age, but particularly a young woman, says something like – and you’ve heard it – ‘well I believe in equal rights, but I’m not a feminist.’

“Well, a feminist is by definition someone who believes in equal rights. I’m hoping that people will not be afraid to say that doesn’t mean you hate men, it doesn’t mean you want to separate out the world, so you’re not a part of ordinary life – that’s not what it means at all! It just means that we believe that women have the same rights as men.”

The full interview, which was filmed in Manhattan on 8 September, will be available in the first issue of Lenny Letter, Dunham’s new online newsletter. Described as an “email newsletter where there’s no such thing as too much information”, Lenny Letter will be published to subscribers on 29 September.

Dunham - the writer and star of the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning HBO series Girls - is an ardent Clinton fan, and often posts pictures on her Instagram account to show her support of the Democratic frontrunner. She called Clinton’s “H” logoher “new tramp stamp” in April.