| I've thought about having my eyes changed. I think they're too round. |
J-Lo's bum, Kylie's petite frame and Beyonce's thighs are things to aspire to - or so we're lead to believe by magazines such as Heat and OK. But what is perfect beauty and who decides?
In India to be beautiful you must be tall and slim with fair, light skin and long straight chocolate brown hair. Whereas in some African countries being voluptuous is the desired look. But in the UK today, you have to be supermodel-thin, have a small nose and big eyes.
In reality, there is no real definition of beauty; it's dictated by the culture in which you live, and is constantly changing. Sadly what this means though is that young people - particularly girls just like us - regardless of where we live - are always struggling to achieve something that's impossible.
It's difficult being a young person in the 21st century. Not only do we have pressure placed on us to do well at school, there's peer pressure and on top of this everywhere we turn, we're overwhelmed with messages about how we should look rather than appreciating ourselves.
It's not surprising then that many of us see no harm in altering the way we look through plastic surgery.
Like thousands of young women in the UK, Katharine Fewings, 14 and Samantha Chanadet Denny 11, both from London, don't see the problem with young people opting for plastic surgery if they feel unhappy with the way they look.
Both have even gone as far as thinking about what they'd have done if they were to actually go through with it: "I've thought about having my eyes pulled a bit. I think they're too round," says Samantha.
Katharine adds that if there was no cost involved she'd have her nose changed because she doesn't like it the way it is at the moment.
Katharine admits that it is mainly the media and the way they portray celebrities that has influenced the way she feels: "Most people who are famous have perfect figures, beautiful faces and you know that they've had plastic surgery to look that way."
Samantha agrees and thinks it's ok if woman want to look like a certain stereotype because at the end of the day, not everyone is perfect.
According to consultant plastic surgeon, Douglas McGeorge, Katharine and Samantha are not alone in their desire to change certain parts of themselves. He says that a lot of young women enquire about having their breasts enlarged but greater numbers ask about nose jobs. He agrees that more and more younger people are now looking to have surgery but says it's balanced out because more and more older people are also requesting the same.
Another plastic surgeon, Lawrence Kirwan, who has clinics in both the United States and in Britain, explained why in his opinion it was women who were more often unhappy with the way they looked rather than men: "Women are used to being looked at as objects of adoration. They're used to making themselves beautiful for men to look at. Men are the lookers rather than the ones who are looked at."
Dr Kirwan does perform surgery on young people, some as young as five, but says that this is for things such as clef lips.
It's understandable that some young people and their parents would want reconstructive surgery for things like this but for us what's sad is that our peers are so unhappy with the way they look. They see their role models changing the way they look and think that it's ok for them to do the same.
At the end of the day we do have the right to make up our own minds about it, provided we're the right age but if we all caved into the pressure to look a certain way, we would lose the very thing that makes us who we are - our different and distinctive looks. Our individuality!
The two young women we spoke to were reflective of young women in today's society. Both worried about certain aspects of the their appearance, and had thought of plastic surgery. That's not to say they'd go through with it but for us the significant thing is that they'd gone as far as pin pointing specific things they didn't like.
There's not a lot we can do to stop young women for thinking this way, except stop watching TV, films and reading magazines and the that's not likely to happen because these are all the things we enjoy doing.
Perhaps the responsibility needs to lie with the adults who make these things because at the moment it does not seem as though we as young people have the power we need to really make a difference. The truth is there's no simple answer for us. We can only try and begin to realise that being a child only comes once in a lifetime and that we need to enjoy it without worrying about our bodies or the way we look.
The burden of looking perfect is not for us, it's for celebrities because they're the ones that need to sell their films and their records. And lets face it, how many of us really look like Britney Spears?
About the team
This story was produced by Horia El Hadad, 17, Nazia Driver, 13, Zarah Driver, 12 and Nadia Driver, 10. It was published by the Reach for the Sky website.
