LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Mrs Hillary Clinton unabashedly called herself a feminist in an interview featured in a newsletter launched on Tuesday (Sept 30) by "Girls" creator Lena Dunham, aimed at a young and hip crowd the United States presidential hopeful is keen to court.

Lenny - which subscribers get via e-mail - is the brainchild of both Ms Dunham and Ms Jenni Konner, executive producer of the hit TV show, who write that their goal is create a "snark-free place for feminists to get information".

The interview with Mrs Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner in the 2016 race for the White House, touches on everything from her college days, her time spent "sliming" (processing) salmon in Alaska after graduation to a "cold shoulder" dress she wore as first lady that caused quite a stir.

And whether the former secretary of state and former senator considers herself a feminist.

"Yes. Absolutely," Mrs Clinton told the newsletter. "I'm always a little bit puzzled when any woman, of whatever age but particularly a young woman, says something like, 'Well, I believe in equal rights, but I'm not a feminist.'"

Being a feminist "doesn't mean you hate men". "It doesn't mean that you want to separate out the world so that you're not part of ordinary life," Mrs Clinton said.

"That's not what it means at all! It just means that we believe women have the same rights as men, politically, culturally, socially, economically. That's what it means."

She concluded with: "And so, yes, I'm a feminist, and I say it whenever I'm asked."

Mrs Clinton, in another bid to reach young voters, took to Facebook for a question and answer session on Monday.

Following that event, she made headlines not for barbs against her Republican competitors but rather for saying she shuns pumpkin spice lattes because they have too many calories.