I was watching Oprah earlier this week. Her guest was Pink ("Stupid Girls"), who was there to discuss the "marginalization of women," Oprah's phrase for the exploitation and dumbing down of women.

Said Oprah: "We are bombarded with titillating images of women degraded and on display -- scantily clad, overtly objectified. There is no escaping it -- women are being exploited. It's bad enough that women are allowing themselves to be used this way, but even worse, young girls are imitating them."

Just this morning, I was pointing out to a co-worker that Kellie Pickler on "American Idol" is a good example of this. She's got the dumb act down pat, and it makes her unthreatening and, therefore, sexy and popular. As another -- male -- co-worker said, "I could probably talk her into doing anything." Nice. Is this what we're teaching young girls, that the goal is to be liked by men whether or not they respect you?

Granted, Kellie brings it on herself by playing dumb (and I'm assuming she's playing, and isn't really that stupid), but when men see women portrayed as ditzes -- hello, Jessica Simpson -- on a regular basis, what's to discourage them from thinking that way about women in general?

Another example: I went to a bar the other day. There was a group of young girls there -- about 22, 23 years old -- and they were all dancing with each other in a sexually provocative way, giggling throughout. It was obvious they weren't gay ... this is just what they've seen on MTV's "Real World" and spring break coverage. That's where they've learned how to act.

Men, of course, can't be counted on to do anything about this issue -- they probably think it's good for them. But is it really? What can possibly be exciting about a life where your partner doesn't have a thought of their own, or doesn't have any beliefs to stand by? In the same way they wouldn't want, say, a video game to only have one level, wouldn't they want the person they're spending their life with to have more than one layer?

But, as with many women's issues, the "fault" lies not with men, but with ourselves. What kind of message are we sending our daughters, nieces, etc., when we obsess over our weight? Or when we hold back on voicing an opinion because it might be unpopular? We've equipped girls with the tools to get an education and a career. Now let's provide them with the tools to become who they are, and not some glamorized, overly sexualized version of who we think they should be.