Gloria Steinem Hates 'Real Housewives,' Feels Good About 'Girls'

If you weren't sure what to think about the way women are represented on TV these days -- better than ever? Nowhere near accurate or nuanced enough? Both? -- you're in luck. Friday the ever wise Gloria Steinem, who turns 79 today, shared her thoughts on the subject, focusing on two female-centric TV shows in particular.

In front of a crowd of 500 at Simmons College in Boston on March 22, Steinem said she has a distinct distaste for the "Real Housewives" Bravo franchise, but the author and activist counts herself as a fan of HBO's "Girls," BuzzFeed reported.

"I think the worst are the 'Housewives' shows, because they present women as rich, pampered, dependent and hateful towards each other," Steinem said.

But she finds some "things less bad than other things" on TV. One of these "less bad" things is apparently "Girls." "I only saw the first couple episodes of 'Girls,' so I can't speak to all of it, but I think it was much more realistic as to how girls look and dress and talk, and that all sex is not wonderful. Some of it is silly and boring. It felt much more realistic to me," Steinem said.

This isn't the first time she's sung the praises of Lena Dunham's HBO hit. In February, Steinem told Vulture that she had finally watched part of Season 1 and she was enjoying it. "I am so relieved to see real people saying real words and wearing real clothes," she said. Us too, Gloria. Us too.

[H/T BuzzFeed]