Thanks a lot Jedi for the lovely reply!
I do have male friends, but sadly they all know me as me. The religious Muslim girl who would never go there. That's who I am now to people, so I feel like all the males I know can never see me in that way. I feel that I can never be 'sexual' because of this weight I've carried for so long. I also find it hard to make new friends, since I am cocooned into my friendship group- though I do love them and luckily none are Muslim.
I guess something I am also trying to do is change my image without being completely shocking to my friends. I would feel really embarrassed to emerge one day as this flirtatious, non-hijabi sexbomb

No that's just an exaggeration! But it feels strange, being the 'moral' one of the group for so many years. I really hate that label and don't think it's truly me.
I'm looking to move city in the next year for a job and I'm really hoping to redefine myself. I've become very lax with the hijab now, don't wear it all the time, wear it very 'loosely' if I do, but hope to get rid of it completely by then. It's funny because it feel like I'm conforming to what people expect of me, but they aren't even Muslims or family. My family live miles away and while I am close to them, their opinions have almost no bearing on my life due to the distance.
I'm thinking of coming off Facebook for a few years while I basically undergo a metamorphosis of some kind! I just want to live my life, but without all the probing, prying, questioning and challenging I feel I will encounter.
I think it is unfortunate it took me so long to figure it out. It feels like I'm really lost in terms of my identity and having a (rather early) mid-life crisis!