The last discussion was based on the practice and stigma surrounding the culture of plastic surgery. I thought that an interesting resounding theme from the lecture was the idea that beauty is pain. I think that this is relevant inside and outside of the realm of plastic surgery. Even for those that choose not to go under the knife in pursuit of bettering themselves, bodily upkeep is a tedious and painful pursuit for those that aim to model themselves after the ideal body shape and appearance. Extreme dieting and exercise, coupled with the use of non-surgical beauty treatments, can make people look healthy and in the ideal form, but not without cost. Surely though, the culture around surgery can appear even more extreme and painful. The most interesting example from the presentation was the television reality show, “The Swan”. Between the 16 contestants on the show, there were an incredible 151 surgeries performed. This is an absurd sounding number, as I’m unsure I can even name the 10 surgeries that each woman underwent on average. The women certainly looked ideal by the end, but obviously at a serious physical cost. It seems the only way to attain beauty is by applying the easy-to-use Photoshop diet!