For a teenage girl, one of the most difficult aspects of growing up is coming to terms with their own body. This is a time in a girl’s life where her body is changing in many ways and challenging her image of herself.  At this stage girls spend a lot of time comparing themselves to others – trying to figure out whether they’re normal and whether their changing shape is OK. And while the media constantly flashes images of sylph-like forms such as Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, teenage girls are pressured into feeling that there is only one acceptable shape – and it’s super-skinny.  Our statistics show that girls feel an enormous pressure to look a certain way and most report that the media exerts the biggest source of pressure to conform to a stereotypical ideal.

Many girls know that celebrities starve themselves to look skinny. They also know that images can be manipulated, but it does not prevent them feeling bad about themselves when they compare their looks to celebrities. Many feel there is too much value placed on how you look, rather than who you are.

We know that rates of anorexia are climbing and we also know that rates of obesity are also climbing. We need strategies as a society to help girls eat healthily, exercise regularly and feel good about themselves as human beings.

Anonymous 12 NSW
I am flat chested and I want boobs cause the boys go for the ones with boobs and I wish my friends would stop flirting. There is this girl called Hayley and she is going out with Luke, but she flirts with James and she hugs James. But Luke doesn’t know. But I really want to tell him and Jodi is going out with Sean and she flirts with James. It pisses me off and Hayley is only popular cause she is blonde and has boobs so why cant I be like that it’s not fair.

Natalie 13 SA
All the time I try to loose a little weight and get rid of my stretch marks but now I think why change myself for ppl that don’t respect me and love me for who I am? I'm sick of always being judged for what I look like. Do u sometimes feel like whatever you do is never good enough?

Anonymous 13 QLD
If I was prettier and skinnier then I would be happy.

Ellen 14 NSW
Don't like your ass, your 'love handles' or bony elbows? Newsflash! No one does. Get over it. Learn to be yourself and be happy with you've got. Stop focusing on yourself and look at more important things in life like helping those less fortunate to have a better life.

Sarah 16 WA
Hey my name is Sarah, The worst thing I hate about my body is my boobs and my freckles. Im 16 and im a size 12C and all my friends are like 15 and their boobs are heaps bigger than mine.

Chloe 13 VIC
As I am going through puberty I am realising many changes, you know what I am talking about, pimples, weight, periods, body shape changes and all that stuff, I thought that I would change I would be a different person and stuff but I am not. I am more mature but I am still the fun loving and funny person I always was, I thought I would be all 'posh' and 'I want this and I want that' but I am not and I am happy I am not coz I don’t want to be like all bitchy and mean, it's not like me. So I am just here to say that life’s not always fair and be comfortable in your own skin, because you yourself are 1 in a million, you are beautiful, you are unique.

Sammi 13 NSW
This image that media and people portray as ‘’the right way to look’’ is not the right way to look… there is no ‘’right way’’. People have their own style, their own body shape and there own reasons for being the size they are small or big. Certain styles suit different types of body shapes. It’s just about finding the one that suits you best, and brings out your best features and your personality, not about what’s ‘’cool’’, and not about who’s skinnier than who... and definitely not about who has all the guys after them!

Anonymous 15 SA
My main bully is myself.

Ellen 12 QLD
I weigh 46kg and I am nearly 12. I recently had an argument with a guy friend of mine and he told me I was fat and needed to loose weight. I wrote out a diet and exercise program but before I started anything serious I decided to see a doctor, just to be safe. I saw my doctor and he told me that my weight is a good weight for a girl my age and that I wasn't fat OR overweight. If I hadn't have seen my doctor or looked out how to work out my BMI this could have become serious!

Amanda 15 WA
I LOVE my body! I mean yeah, there was a time when I was the "I’m fat n ugly" chick but that was sOoOoo 2 yrs ago! Now I have something I call "Amanda's confidence phase" where I tell myself I am beautiful and great the way I am!

Hanisi 13 New Zealand
I've learnt that if I want to be happy about myself and my image, I can't pray about it and hope, I've got to do something and change it!

Anonymous 14 SA
Feel good about your body your stuck with it for the rest of your life treat it as a prized possession if anyone disses your body you can always get new friends but u cant replace your body

Geneva 13 NSW
I think that it's hard to feel totally happy nowadays with the way you look when everyone is shoving things in your face and saying BE LIKE THIS and CHANGE THAT and YOU SHOULD GO BLONDE. I'm so sick of it...why don't media people realise there are heaps of shapes and sizes and every one of them is beautiful???

Marie 15 QLD
I may not be happy about my body, but it sure doesn't help when people tease you about it. Now, if someone tells me something I don't like, I say, "Well I don't care what you think because it's my body and not yours to judge. I like it the way it is and it's the one I have to put up with!" When I said that, they just shut up and left me alone!

Anonymous 14 VIC
Life isn’t about what colour your hair is or how big your boobs are, it’s about having fun and living YOUR life not Lindsay Lohan's.

Dayna 13 WA
I think there are too many celebrities getting too thin!! It's setting a really bad example. And video clips, of women wearing skimpy clothes, and dancing in too much of an "adult" way. My 6-year-old cousin, when a song came on started dancing like that. And I asked her why, and she said because people on TV do it. It's such a BAD INFLUENCE!

Emily 14 QLD
I used to feel pretty confident about my body, until my friends all started going on crash diets which consist of no food. Now I feel the pressure to do the same, so im not the fattest within my group. Sometimes I feel almost as if I am in competition with my friends

Pippa 14 NSW
Girls spend time that they don’t have, becoming who they're not, to impress people they don't like.

Maryanne 14 ACT
You need to silence the voice inside your head that says 'Im fat and ugly' and listen to the voice that says 'Im beautiful!'

Lil 12 QLD
I hate how people always complain about their wait and every thing. The only problem is that I am one of those people!

Lauren 16 NSW
I've been in hospital twice with an eating disorder and a lot of people think 'she just does it for attention' but its not like that I think people don’t actually know what goes on in a sufferer's life both at home and at hospital and they criticise them when really we already feel alone and isolated.

Siobhan 15 QLD
I think its funny how in this day and age, not even the most beautiful woman in the world fits our ideals, and how nothing ever seems to be good enough

Sophie 17 New Zealand
Imperfections are not a flaw in mankind, but a gift that enables us to radiate our unique beauty.

Ashleigh 13 VIC
Who are we supposed to look up to? We see Lindsay Lohan, Marykate Olsen, Nicole Ritchie and many more teen celebrities sporting the new 'fashion trend' skin and bones. These are supposed to be people us girls look up to, they are supposed to be our role models, but are role models supposed to encourage eating disorders and a feeling of negativeness towards their looks? I don't think so!

Tara 15 SA
I used to get so upset about how I looked and what people thought of me that I turned to hurting myself I know now that people should like you for who you are not what you look like or how much money you have.

PetaKate 15 SA
If your life were perfect then there would be no need for a heaven.

Alexia 17 NSW
I always worried about what I ate and was in and out of diets. I got so obsessed with being skinny that I threw up almost every thing that I ate. And I became sick. That was 3 years ago and now I am a healthy 17 year old in a size 12, and I feel grate, im not fat or skinny.. I’m just right. U must remember that is what’s inside that counts.

Georgia 14 NSW
I believe very much in the saying 'Your imperfections are what make you beautiful.' And am very proud that I live my life by this motto 'Do not belittle or disregard those who are different than you, for without them you would cease to be special.'

Kasey 13 NSW
I don't necessarily have the skinniest waist or the clearest skin but I know I have a soul like no other girl and if my friends or my boyfriend can't see that, they're not worth my time. I do try to lose weight but I’m trying to do it for me. NOT FOR OTHERS!

Sarah 16 QLD
I sometimes wish I could be different like thinner or prettier but then I wonder if I would know the people I know now if I was different.

Kimberly 13 NSW
To all of those teens out there who think image is everything, I suggest to you to take a look around at the NORMAL people because that’s what you are, NORMAL, you’re not a celeb or model so stop starving yourselves to be one!! If you do then maybe, just maybe, you can live a NORMAL life with the people who REALLY care about you!!

Laura 15 SA
Look. I have freckles and even though I don’t really like them I am still happy I have them sort of because they are different and some guys like different!

Michelle 16 NEW ZEALAND
I mean im a size 10 and I have a m8 who is like an 8 and is ALWAYS saying how she used to be a 6 and needs to lose weight... I mean wow! Dude people grow!

Emma 16 QLD
I have my down days as well, but whether it's what I'm wearing or a pimple on my face, I think, will this really matter in a year's, even a month's time?

Anonymous 13 NEW ZEALAND
At first I didn’t want to accept the way I looked and I was so convinced that I could change. I tried dieting but it never worked so I started to eat a minimum amount of food at every meal extremely small portions this never worked either so I started to vomit after every meal until I got so sick of trying to change the way I look that I realised that you just have to except you for who you are. Its not like J.Lo can help having curves and Paris cant help being skinny. So stop trying to change the way you look and enjoy what you have got.

Hannah 13 QLD
I feel great with the clothes I wear. Everyone says I have great taste but... yes there is always a "but" in every 13 yr olds sentence.

Sami 13 VIC
I feel that I am not pretty like the other girls and that I am a fat ugly girl. I try to lose weight but I can't I’m friends with boys but don't go out with them because of my weight and looks. People say things behind my back about how I look and I don't like it. I want other [skinny & prettier] girls to know how it feels to be me and I hate myself because I can't be the person I want to be.

Mandy 15 VIC
In the end, we are all going to turn into old ladies anyway!

Shazza 12 NSW
I L_O_V_E me

Josie 13 NSW
A smile says a lot more than a fake tan or a five hundred dollar pair of designer shoes.

Katie 13 QLD
I always get told that I am really good looking and am always the first to be asked out by the hotties but I don’t see it that much. I don’t leave the house without full foundation eyeliner the lot I just think I am scared of what others will treat me if they think im ugly!

Steph 14 WA
damn I hate my body *lol* I get told by my friends and family that I am normal and that there is nothing for me to worry about at all but I cant get their message through my head because some how no matter what anyone sais I’ve always thought that I was really fat and im always comparing myself to my friends and I don’t wanna grow up hating boys because of my weight because I always immediately assume that they hate me because of the way I look to everyone I seem fine and bubbly but I wake up every morning and all I see is this FAT girl staring back at me I’m sick of this but I cant help it, I just so badly wanna be normal when I am? I’m size 1416 and I hate my body!

Alex 14 NSW
Why is the "hot" body thin and tanned with blonde hair? What makes this so "hot"? Why must a thin tanned blonde be more beautiful than an average brunet? IT SUCKS and it’s unfair.

Blondie 11 TAS.
Hey dudes Im confused I like my body but im not happy with it doesn’t make sense! HELPPPPP Luv Always Blondie

PAIJE 15 NSW
I am freakin' 15 yrs old & have no freakin' boobs what so ever!!!

Lizzy 14 QLD
I am in the modelling business and I feel pressure to be skinny and have a six-pack. I work out all the time and now I constantly feel tired. My grades are dropping and my hair and skin are suffering, but I have to look this way, don't I?

Bek 13 VIC
It’s funny how much different you see yourself than how others see you.

Anonymous 17 NSW
I have been under weight all my life and unhappy with it. People always make comments on how thin I am and joke around, I am so sick of it. The worst part is when people think you are anorexic. I have been trying to gain weight even going to a doctor but nothing works. I know a lot of people who want to gain weight but cant. Even clothes in shops now r not made for thin people especially those who r tall too. It really sucks being thin!

Anonymous 13 VIC
I love my curves and hopefully everyone else will love their curves 2!

Tonya 13 QLD
I feel really happy about the way I look. A lot of my friends say things like "When I'm older I'm getting breast implants, and liposuction and..." Blah Blah Blah. I just sit there like "Oh my god! You REALLY want to change all these things!!" It annoys me to think that they would actually get surgery to change their bodies.

Anonymous 15 QLD
Im only 5"2,and my boobs are a double d. I feel self-conscious around my friends and I hate going out in public without covering my chest. Many girls say they would do anything for big boobs. I say id do anything for small boobs.

Amelia 14 NSW
Just be happy with who you are because believe it or not, there is at least one person who envies you!