If ever there was a case against plastic surgery, it has to be the face of Michael Jackson. It looks very strange, like some kind of mask designed by a machine.

Who could ever have imagined that the handsome young coloured dancer of the eighties could turn into a porcelain caricature of a human being? I wonder what Michael sees when he looks in the mirror: the stunning beauty which expensive surgery has brought him? Or a disastrous misuse of his wealth? Here in the UK, plastic surgery is a booming business, with millions being spent each year on nose jobs, liposuction and all the rest. But is the body which all this money is intended to create really an image of beauty? Recently I watched a documentary all about skin bleaching - a technique whereby people try to whiten their skin with chemicals and which is, apparently, all the rage in parts of the world where people have coloured skin. Yet back here in Europe, white people spend their time sunbathing and in tanning salons trying to make their skin darker! And in medieval times the greatest image of female beauty was in the very large ladies of the pre-Raphelite paintings, since food was scare in those days. Which brings me to my point: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you love yourself, and feel loved, you will be happy with yourself, no matter your size, colour, or shape. Plastic surgery, used frivolously, can prey on people's insecurities and make them do crazy things with their bodies in search of 'beauty'. Love yourself and spread the love, and send the surgeons packing!

- Steve Turner