Since when did feminism come to mean being "one of the guys"?

Going to strip clubs, flipping through Playboy magazines, making sexual comments about other women...

It seems the chauvinists are getting some female recruits.

I've noticed many young women today are confusing empowerment with sexual exploitation. They try to gain sexual liberation by playing the "male game," showing off their "assets" and objectifying other women.

But instead of moving forward, we're only taking a giant leap backward.

I'm not one to preach, but don't feel you have to tag along with your guy friends to Hooters or The End Zone if you'd rather eat chips and watch the Oxygen Network.

Do you think those same guys would enjoy a night of debauchery at Chippendales, men in thongs and all? I think not. Of course it's a little different when men are the sexual objects.

A new book, Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture, explores this new cultural phenomenon where young women are exploiting their sexuality under the illusion it's a form of power. In reality, they're just degrading themselves further in a man's world.

Just look around. This new kind of "female empowerment" is everywhere. Did you know Girls Gone Wild and Playboy are largely run by women?

And the popular clothing store Abercrombie & Fitch recently made a line of offensive T-shirts for teenage girls with phrases like "Who needs a brain when you have these?" written across the chest. The store eventually pulled some of the shirts, but its attempt to sell such degrading apparel really says something about how young girls confuse exploitation and power.

Even in college, parties are labeled with themes like "golf pros and tennis hos" and "secretary hos and CEOs."

Why does the guy get to be the fully clothed professional while the girl is the scantily clad "ho"?

What's even more startling is many girls freely give in to these stereotypes.

I have. I'll admit it, I've put on a way-too-short white tennis skirt for some of these theme parties, wanting to look hot and telling myself it's just a way of "owning my sexuality."

I don't regret wearing skimpy or tight-fitting clothing when I want to, but I do regret doing it for a degrading social system.

And what about using your sexuality to get what you want?

Suddenly the requirement for girls to get beer at frat parties is not kissing the guy behind the counter, but kissing each other. Sure it's objectifying, but it'll get you the beer, right?

Girls, you should be able to do what you want, but don't do it because you're trying to meet a standard set by men.

It's time to make our own standards.

And I can't wait to see who follows.