Camille Cooper spoke to a predominantly female crowd Monday night in a presentation titled "Discovering the truth about 'beauty' in popular culture," which was created to educate her audience about the problems with the media's portrayal of women in our society.

"From the time we're small kids in this culture the media tells us our roles," Cooper said.

For instance, doctor costumes used for dressing up are marketed exclusively to boys, while princess costumes are geared toward girls, she said.

Cooper put the spotlight on magazines such as "Cosmopolitan" and "Seventeen," which claim to help women be better versions of themselves. But Cooper said she is skeptical of these magazines and their real effects on women today.

"Girls today are taught to be a walking contradiction," Cooper said. "Be pretty but don't act like you're trying to be pretty."

"Don't let anyone tell you that you can't get this stuff done or make changes in the world. It just takes a very concerted effort." Camille Cooper, women's rights advocate Retouching labs touch up any photo run in a magazine of a girl over the age of 14, Copper said. This is a manifestation of the problems with the media in America, she said.

She illustrated this point through before-and-after pictures of retouched photographs.

"I would not be here lecturing on this campus if the media didn't create a critical situation," Cooper said in reference to the media's glorification of "super-skinny" movie stars and models.

Actresses and models account for five percent of the population of women in the United States, and they weigh 28 percent less than the average woman, Cooper said. Yet their weight is idealized as something all women should strive to attain, she said.

Cooper sees a correlation between society's apparent obsession with weight and the prevalence of eating disorders in the U.S. But she was quick to point out that body issues are not just a female problem. For every ten people that suffer from an eating disorder, one is male, she said.

Every time Cooper speaks at a university campus she asks everyone in the audience who knows a person who has suffered from an eating disorder to raise their hands. About half of the crowd at Monday night's lecture raised their hands, and Cooper said almost every campus does the same.

Cooper managed to avoid developing an eating disorder during her time in Hollywood, but she did admit to dieting very heavily and suffering from low self-esteem.

When addressing what caused her to leave show business, Cooper said, "the catalyst for me was having a daughter."

Cooper ended her talk with a call to action for everyone in attendance.

"Don't let anyone tell you that you can't get this stuff done or make changes in the world," she said. "It just takes a very concerted effort."