Lena Dunham and Gloria Steinem Rate Jack Antonoff as a Feminist-Friendly Boyfriend

Dunham and Gloria Steinem define "feminist-friendly boyfriend" for PEOPLE, and Jack Antonoff scores big-time

Published on April 25, 2016 05:15 PM

Lena Dunham‘s boyfriend Jack Antonoff secured a place in her fans’ hearts when he gave her a luminescent moonstone ring on their fourth anniversary – but how does he rate with renowned feminist icon Gloria Steinem?

Just before Steinem presented the Girls creator and star with a 2016 Matrix Award Monday’s New York Women in Communications luncheon at the Waldorf Astoria, Dunham showed off her new accessory and told PEOPLE that she’d shared the gift on Instagram “because I was so proud of my moonstone and I was surprised, considering it is not an engagement ring, how many people just genuinely thought he did a good job. They thought he busted it out in the taste department.”

And that’s not where Antonoff’s discerning taste ends. The Bleachers and fun. musician, 32, is “Gloria’s No. 1 fan, which is a cool quality in a boyfriend,” said Dunham, 29.

She added that he “beyond” supports her and Steinem’s feminist perspective, then deferred to Steinem to articulate the qualities that define a feminist-friendly boyfriend.

According to Steinem, 82: “He’s actually a human being. It’s a person that knows there are human beings, that each one is unique and there are no groups.”

And one of Antonoff’s particularly strong feminist qualities, says Dunham, is that “he never dismisses it when I feel I’ve experienced something that was gendered or misogynistic. He never dismisses it or plays devil’s advocate. He listens to me and lets me figure it out, which I feel lucky about.”

Of course, a round of “Plead the Fifth” with emcee Andy Cohen, presenter Katie Couric and fellow honoree and TIME editor Nancy Gibbs revealed that Antonoff does his have quirks.

“He’s a horrible germaphobe,” Dunham said when asked about her partner’s least fun quality. “And I can’t leave the house and come back in without showering – there are a lot of limitations on what I can do.”

That said, after quipping on the red carpet that her four-year relationship with Antonoff has now lasted a “full presidential term – or four years of college,” she said, “I feel excited that someone wanted to stick with me that long.”