When you think of the show Real Housewives what comes to mind isn’t usually something spectacular. To some, it’s nothing but a bunch of older women yelling at one another for an hour on your television. It’s like a grown-up version of The Hills. Many would argue that all it teaches women is to stray completely away from whatever they are displaying, which most of the time, is a bunch of drama. But what some viewers forget to notice and mention when talking about the shows is how incredible these women actually are. They’re ambitious, driven, outspoken, and hardworking women. They can go from spilling drama and rumors to getting deeply honest and spitting the truth. So, for me, this franchise is, in fact, feminist and here’s why.

These women mean business

And to top it all off, they know how to hustle and run their own business. From owning and running a restaurant, having their own drink empire, maintaining a steady singing career, writing books, and starring on other reality television shows, these women know how to work their way to the top without the help of anyone else rising above with them. One thing is whenever I  watch these shows is I always see them working or running around doing something. So, yes, they may go to a lot of social events, but that doesn’t mean that’s all they do, and in fact, they know how to balance everything coming at them.

They don’t care what comes out of their mouths

Anyone who's ever seen a single episode of this show knows how outspoken these women can get. Sometimes it can be a little too much information. Believe me, there have been times where I’d been watching this with my mom and someone will say something and suddenly there will be this wave of awkwardness that hits out of nowhere and we don’t know whether to continue watching or start a new show. But for them, it makes it seem normal for women to be able to say whatever they want, especially knowing there’s a camera following their every move  so they want to put what they’re saying out for anyone to hear it.

They’re always there for their friends

Despite a lot of the show revolving around drama with one another, these women will do anything for their friends. And they’re not afraid to stand up for someone when the other person is in the wrong and they expect the same to be reciprocated to them as well. Because as much as these women may fight and claw each other tooth and nail when it’s to defend their friends, they don’t care what has to be done or how crazy they may come off.

They have helped normalize the word housewife

For most of our time, especially back in the day, a housewife was seen as nothing more than a woman who never left the kitchen and only adhered to what a man told them to do. They were never to leave the house or have their own job or really any sense of independence. Flash forward to today and they have reinvented the word housewife. We see these women being independent of their husbands, having multiple jobs, and growing their own businesses as well as uplifting and encouraging other women to do the same. If anything, they’ve helped see that the 21st century woman can be a housewife without those negative connotations being added to the name.

No matter what happens with these women, whether it’s another messy fight with drama continuing to unfold or seeing something in their lives blow-up out of proportion, one thing remains true: These women show that not everything is perfect. Sure, they live extravagant lives and are full of wealth, but they still deal with real-life problems that are the same ones as you and I deal with. The life of a woman is hard and full of many obstacles, but we wouldn’t want it and have it be shown any other way.

So, to all the Real Housewives shows, this is all I have to say: Bravo!