Peggy
Orenstein, acclaimed author of the groundbreaking New York Times
bestsellers Girls & Sex and Schoolgirls, offers a
radical, timely wake-up call for parents, revealing the dark side of a pretty
and pink culture confronting girls at every turn as they grow into adults.

Sweet
and sassy or predatory and hardened, sexualized girlhood influences our
daughters from infancy onward, telling them that how a girl looks matters more
than who she is. Somewhere between the exhilarating rise of Girl Power in the
1990s and today, the pursuit of physical perfection has been recast
as the source of female empowerment. And commercialization has spread
the message faster and farther, reaching girls at ever-younger ages. But how
dangerous is pink and pretty, anyway? Being a princess is just make-believe;
eventually they grow out of it . . . or do they?

In
search of answers, Peggy Orenstein visited Disneyland, trolled American Girl
Place, and met parents of beauty-pageant preschoolers tricked out like Vegas
showgirls. The stakes turn out to be higher than she ever imagined. From
premature sexualization to the risk of depression to rising rates of
narcissism, the potential negative impact of this new girlie-girl culture is
undeniable--yet armed with awareness and recognition, parents can effectively
counterbalance its influence in their daughters' lives.