To most consumers, Monster dolls are just the latest addition to the long line of toys produced by American companies to give children something to put on their Christmas and Chanuka lists. To Peggy Orenstein, author of New York Times bestseller Cinderella Ate My Daughter, these dolls represent the extreme sexualization of little girls, the rising unhealthy emphasis on a female’s body over all else, and the end of civilization as we know it.Well, she didn’t go quite that far, but in Orenstein’s speech at Stern College last week to an overflowing auditorium, she made it clear that the “culture of girlhood,” as she calls it, is headed in a dire, though not irreversible, direction. She illustrated this concerning point by simply taking an objective look at the toy industry.Monster dolls are just the beginning; the fact that they are designed to look, as Orenstein describes, “kind of like undead street walkers” is no small coincidence; rather, this is a sign of the increasing sexualization of girls (which Orenstein defined as “when a girl learns her value comes from appearance; when she is held to narrow standard equating attractiveness to being sexy; when she is sexually objectified or self-objectifies; when adult sexuality is inappropriately imposed on girls”) at increasingly younger ages. Orenstein highlighted her points with slide-show images of the various toys she discussed, and kept the audience rapt with fascinating facts and humorous one-liners.To illustrate her point, Orenstein pulled up a picture of the original Dora the Explorer. The cheerful, cherubic television character waves merrily, her cute T-shirt barely covering a chubby childlike figure, her belly protruding over baggy shorts.  Alongside it was the image of a new and “improved” Dora. Her hair is long, and her body is slimmer and taller. Her outfit has become a more effeminate and revealing dress and leggings, and her curvy body is embellished by jewelry. This new Dora was created to appeal to the “tween population,” which was defined by the show as 5 to 8 year olds. Apparently, children–sorry, tweens–would refuse to play with the old Dora because she wasn’t as pretty or skinny. As Orenstein explained all of this, horrified gasps could be heard from all over the room.

From this unnerving illustration, the facts Orenstein was presenting only got more troubling. A recent study has shown that between 2000 and 2010, for the first time girls’ concerns for grades were surpassed by their concern for body image; at the same time, the number of girls in school government offices, like student councils, dropped. This focus on body image–and the idea that a woman gets her power from physicality, as opposed to ability– doesn’t just come from magazines and television, as many believe; it comes from everywhere.

In a sign hanging in a room of a toy store dedicated to boys’ toys, boys were drawn in with the phrase “Energy, Heroes, and Power.” Meanwhile, the girls’ room had “Beautiful, Colorful, and Pretty”–“they couldn’t even come up with three words to describe girls!” exclaimed Orenstein. The room responded with laughter, but the message was clear: boys get power; girls get beauty. Younger girls are encouraged to be “sassy,” which Orenstein rejects as merely “sexy with training wheels.”

And how are young girls taught to achieve this beauty? Makeup companies have created lines of makeup for girls ages 8-12. This is not the play lipstick and glitter body gel of your childhood; this is a collection of creams, mascaras, and rouges for elementary schoolers. The collection also includes anti-aging lotions…for seven year old children. Presumably, these are in case their skin has begun to sag unattractively. If that doesn’t frighten you, consider this: stores have also begun selling waxing products for seven year olds. Put another way, girls who haven’t even hit puberty are already being told to remove unwanted hair from places which likely don’t even yet have it.

This emphasis on the exterior leads to many negative consequences, including those which we’ve all heard hundreds of times–low self-esteem, eating disorders, and unhealthy sexual relationships. But there are also those which are less advertised but no less damaging. Girls who expend energy thinking about their appearance are unavoidably losing time and energy to focus on other pursuits, like education. In one study, men and women were divided up; some were then told to take tests in bathing suits while others took the same tests in their regular clothing. Women in bathing suits scored the lowest on the tests, for no other reason than the fact that they were simultaneously worrying about their appearances.

Orenstein’s talk highlighted the current state of sexism, but she did not stop her speech with these somewhat disheartening notions. Instead, she ended on an upbeat note: the informed woman is the powerful woman. There are many organizations dedicated to fighting back against this trend, such as poweredbygirls.org, a website where readers are encouraged to submit sexist ads with their own slogans pointing out the problems with the advertisements. It’s just the beginning, but it’s an important battle to be fought.

For more information on Peggy Orenstein, her bestselling books, or her current book tour, visit her website at peggyorenstein.com