As one of the girls in the survey said…”Friends r forever, guys r whenever, when worse comes to worst, my girls come first.”

From my discussions with the girls and from the survey, the subject of boys - to state the obvious - is not simple. While they are of interest to the girls, it’s not in the way one might imagine. Especially in early teens, the girls are more interested in boys for how they impact their relationships with their girlfriends. They can get worried about why they don’t have one, but this is only in comparison to other girls who do, and not necessarily because of a genuine desire to have a boyfriend. As stated in the survey statistics above, boys for all the discussion and worry they generate are seemingly not high on the list of priorities. Think of a boyfriend more as an accessory.

And when it comes to sex, of the 7,000 girls who chose to write about their lives - with no guidelines given as to what the subject should be - only about 20 girls wrote directly about sex!

So, here’s what the girls had to say about boys…

Tilly 16 NSW
There's only a few boys in my school that I find are truly awesome boys - that includes being nice, smart and hot. I've been there and it’s not somewhere you want to go... Boys are very difficult and strange to figure out..But they're amazing creatures...nice chattin. Tilly

Jo 15 SA
grrrr boys seem to think that a girls mind works in mysterious ways but for crying out loud have they ever looked at them selves in that kinda way??? one minute they are completely in love with you then the next its like you don’t even exist! grrr make up your mind!

Nikki 12 TAS
Hi my name is Nikki. I am not fat but I am not skinny. I have got a couple of fat roles and I hate them so much because as soon as I sit down they are there. I am really self conscious because I am not happy with my body. It takes me at the minimum 30 mins to get dressed because I worry what I am looking like. All my friends are really skinny and are really pretty and it makes me feel that I cant really hang with some of them. With a click of their fingers they have all the boys after them. They can have anyone they want. I really like boys a lot. When I like one of them I get really nervous around them and don’t really know what to say. It makes me look like an idiot. I just wanted to get all of the things that I have said off my chest.

Amy 17 NSW
I once asked my boyfriend if he thought I was pretty, and the answer I got was "Well, you're no supermodel, but I like ya!

Clara 14 VIC
Boys also put a lot of pressure on us. they expect us all to look like supermodels and if your not 100% hot you wont even be looked at. Sometimes I think its really unfair. I mean, what do 14 year old boys know about beauty!

Anonymous 15 VIC
I think school, family and my body is more important then having a bf. Well, that is what I think. No Offence to other girls, but BFs can be distracting from your school work. Getting good grades is my aim forever.

Anonymous 13 SA
It annoys me how parents think that having a boyfriend will just distract us from our school work when in actual fact in my position he helps me and I help him.

Holly 15
I believe that looks aren’t the only things guys go for. Beauty is not only about physical features but about the way you act, the way you carry yourself and they way you respect yourself. This isn’t over-confidence. This is belief in who you are. Don’t be influenced by trends, or opinions, be your own person, and you will attract the guys you want. This theory has always worked for me.

Anna 15 New Zealand
All the guys I know would definitely much rather have a bubbly personality then some barbie looking bimbo-so get out there and have fun!

Anonymous 13 QLD
I like two guys and I feel like whatever I do, I’m never gunna be good enough for either of them. My stomach is nice and flat, but my thighs are really big. I feel really embarrassed to wear minis and short-shorts. I always miss opportunities to ask guys out or be asked out and it’s making me really anxious and panicky. My friends really need to grow up coz they aren't letting me spread my wings and fly into society. I feel like I can’t act as grown up as I feel when I’m around them.

Erin 16 SA
I feel unattractive cos the guy I have liked for 3 years does not like me back and he knows I like him. I think it is because I am unattractive and fat - but I have to busy a schedule for exercise and I am to lazy and like my food to much to diet. Plus I am 16 and have never had a boyfriend cos no one has asked me and I don’t want to ask them in the fear of rejection but I am afraid that I will end up like my Grandfathers sister who is 93 and never had a boyfriend I am very worried, probably paranoid!

Lorenzo 15 WA
I hate it how chicks think that they need to let guys do whatever they want to them coz they're scared of being called tight, and it brings them down. GET OVER IT GIRLS!!!!!! If a guy really likes u, he'll be prepared to wait for u and not pressure u, and if he's not doin’ that, DROP HIM!!!!! He’s so not worth it and there's sum1 much better out there 4 ya!!

Jessie 13 NSW
I love jesse mccartney he is such a hotti. Thanx for that I really needed to get that off my chest

Anonymous 14 VIC
I’m in LOVE, and I mean IN LOVE wif this guy at the moment, and I’ve waited patiently for 8 months talking to him and he knows I like him, but what do you know, he don’t like me or any girls very much and we are absolutely perfect for each other, we have soooo much in common . All my friends are absolutely GORJUZ and they can all get guys, but not me!! I’ve never been told by a boy that I’m beautiful, hot or gorjuz – I’ve just sat around listening to my friends being told that! I am really starting to hate myself, but what can ya do?

Anonymous 11 QLD
I feel as though I have to always suck in my gut so boys wont think I am fat. I am always hanging with my friends and sometimes they just ignore me, as though they don’t want to hear what I have to say! Sometimes I have dreams about telling this boy I like him and it seems so easy but it’s not! When I try to tell him or go to tell him it seems as though someone has come and taken my voice away and I just cant do it!!! He knows now because it was putting a lot of pressure on me so I asked one of my friends, which is his cousin, to tell him. Now I feel like an idiot around him!

Anonymous 13 NSW
Just remember, you go to school to find your bridesmaids - not ur husbands! Don’t worry about boys! They are great friends and fantastic boyfriends, but they aren’t the world.

Anonymous 17 NSW
One thing that really pressures me is girls thinking they’re going to be heaps happier if they have a boyfriend. That’s not always the case, because you have to be happy with yourself before you think having a boyfriend makes you happy.

Anonymous 16
Guys. You think you know them, you think you know what they are thinking and feeling but really, you have no idea. They treat you like a princess one moment and like crap the next. Like you mean the world to them at times, but at other times the football or something like that is far more important.

Kaite 13 QLD
I feel like none of the guys like me cause I have red hair and I have big boobs at the age of 13. My boyfriend just dumped me cause he said the relationship wasn’t going anywhere. My friends are basically anoerexic and I'm average. One of my best friends called me fat and from then on I have hated my appearance. I’m ashamed to wear cloths that are revealing. All I want is to be noticed by the guys and have more confidence in myself!

Ash 15 SA
I just want to let all the girls out there know that being pretty isn’t important and pretending to be someone you’re not to try and impress a guy is NOT how you should live. If a guy really likes you, he wouldn't care if you’re pretty or not, that is just a bonus! I know it’s important for girls these days to make themselves feel/be confident, but when you’re home alone with your boy, don't go putting make up on and your skimpy clothes just to impress him! Wear your daggy pants and old top, chuck your hair in a pony tail, put on some moisturiser and then spend some quality time with your boy!! And for all the girls out there who don't have a boy, and think that they could never ever get a boyfriend, don't think negative, think positive and then all good things will happen! Why don't you and you girls go out looking for boys one night?!?

Anonymous 17 QLD
One Guy said to me that he goes for 80% looks and 20% personality. I think it is unfair because 1 - we can't help the way we look. 2 - Guys don't see us for who we are. To all guys out there; If you judge by looks you are missing out on a lot, on everything. It is what is in the inside that counts.

Anonymous 13
I am fine with everything in my life except sometimes I get down about the fact that a boy doesn’t like me or something, I know its kind of stupid because I’m only in year seven, and should be worrying about more important things, but I cant help my feelings. Sometimes I wish I could change them!!

Anonymous 15 VIC
I know that everyone will say that it's what's inside that counts, but it's hard to believe that when guys wont talk to you because there's someone prettier right next to you. I have a boyfriend, and I love him so much, and he makes me feel great about myself.

Nina 16 New Zealand
I have a huge bum! But my boy loves it!!!

Sarah 14 NSW
I am very confused. I like a guy but the thing is I don’t know what he thinks or takes me as. I talk to him on the phone and I’m going crazy over him. I can never get him out of my head and I’m seeing him in my dream. I always ask him what he takes me as but he always says a friend and a girl he knows and respects. Sometimes we won’t talk for days and he never or barley calls me. What should I do?

Anonymous 16
I feel reasonably happy with my body and myself although there are many things I would like to change about certain things. The positive things do outweigh the negative things though. For example I'm REALLY short (which is a negative) but lots of guys like short girls anyway (positive!!). Girls need to focus on their positive features rather than their negatives. I think why I'm happy with my body is because I'm in proportion! Ever since I started socializing with guys I've also felt way better about myself because I've realise they're not all sleazy etc and they like me for me. I'm not at all perfect but no one is! Guys have made me feel a lot better about my body, my looks and myself.

Lauren 15 QLD
It's only the shallow guys who care about looks but the real authentic guys are the ones that can look beyond that and can see your real inner beauty. They're the guys that you should hold onto and not let them go.

Simone 15 VIC
I’m forever trying to get a certain guys attention, but unless I wear a mini skirt have lots of make up on and look like a porn star will he ever look twice at me?

Anonymous 13 QLD
I feel small although there are many smaller people than me. I feel like no boys like me at all and I will never get a boyfriend and I haven't even kissed anyone yet and every one else has and I have a lot of pressure in that area. All my friends say I'm gorgeous but then if I'm pretty how come no guys like me. Plus my boobs are like mosquito bites and it really sucks.

Elle 14 NSW
I hate the fact that if a girl sleeps with one guy she is automatically known as a slut but when guys do it with so many girls they are praised for it! It annoys me because there are two sets of rules for girls and boys!!! Guys should not be praised for having sex with heaps of girls because they just keep doing it whilst hurting girls as they do it!!! Girls do it because it means something to them, well most girls anyway, but guys don't care and they just move on and go to the next girl without thinking who they're hurting in the process!!! Guys are special to any girl but I think we rate them higher than they deserve!

Julia 16 New Zealand
I know boys shouldn't be important when your only 16 but I think it's part of human nature to value them...