Petite Pride (TV Tropes)

Basic Trope: A woman or girl is proud of her modest chest size.

Straight: Tasmin has small breasts, and rather than being ashamed, is proud of them. Exaggerated: Tasmin brags about her small breasts every chance she gets. She is also a Shameless Fanservice Girl who is flat enough to go shirtless without any caution from Moral Guardian. Tasmin hates everything about her physical appearance, with the exception of her "itty bitty titties". Downplayed: Tasmin likes her small breasts enough, but it doesn't consume her soul. Tasmin's breasts are a bit small by comparison to her friends, and she is still comfortable with them. Justified: Tasmin lives in a society where small breasts are preferred and/or her career prefers smaller breasts (such as a runway model or a gymnast). Tasmin lives in a society where nobody's ever made fun of other people's bodies and men don't give her any less attention than her Ms. Fanservice best friend Diane. Tasmin feels safer because lecherous men give her less attention to her breasts, perhaps she is already One of the Boys so she is only satisfied with platonic attention from men. It's easy for her to find cute and well-fitting bras. Tasmin used to be insecure about her small chest size, until she saw an inspiring androgyny-figure model on the runway or the work that depicts small breasts heroine as a beautiful woman that made her feel good about herself. She still idolized her until now. Tasmin is a Tomboy and/or a Passionate Sports Girl and her small breasts make her sporty activities more convenient. Tasmin is just proud of being skinny, the flat chest has come from her being underweight. Tasmin does not have to constantly wear a bra because of her lighter chest weight caused by large breast. Tasmin likes to sleep in the prone position, so she doesn't worry about the pressure from her breasts. Inverted: A-Cup Angst Big-Breast Pride D-Cup Distress Tasmin is proud(or ashamed) of her tiny behind. Gender-Inverted: Derek is proud of his small dick. Subverted: Tasmin is only pretending to like her little boobs. Deep down, she is hurt that she can't be bustier, instead, she distracts herself by taking pride in other parts of her body, such as her eyes, her legs, or her smile. Tasmin is thought to feel comfortable with her flat chest, but it's revealed later that she looks flat just because of her chest binder. Double-Subverted: Fake it till you make it. Over time, she stops pretending and starts genuinely loving her figure as well as other parts of her body. Actually, her hidden breasts are still A-cup, but she hides them because she wants a completely flat chest. Parodied: Tasmin gains confidence in her small bust because her boyfriend sings "I like small busts and I cannot lie!" Tasmin marries a pedophilic guy who wants to avoid Jailbait Taboo, when their daughter is growing up, they give her a hormone blocker to make sure that her breasts will stay small forever! The proudness of her flat breasts makes Tasmin grow her own penis and her Carpet of Virility, and she still like it. Zig-Zagged: Tasmin's views on having a small bust vary day by day or Depending on the Writer. Averted: Tasmin is indifferent to her breasts, or has medium/large ones. Enforced: The writers are tired of female characters having A-Cup Angst. They feel that this ties into the beauty standards, so they write a character who is flat-chested and proud to counter the toxic messages that girls with no breasts are worthless. The author wants to write pseudo-Lolicon series, but they don't want to add multiple A-Cup Angst characters or Bust-Contrast Duo in their work, so they create a contrary one to be the Foil. The artwork style is Barbie Doll Anatomy that only allows female characters without any breasts to show off. Lampshaded: "Yeah, I have small breasts. Did you get a problem with that? Because I sure don't." Invoked: Tasmin's mother has small breasts as well, and teaches Tasmin to be proud of hers. Tasmin struggles with Growing Up Sucks so she takes advantage of her small breast to help her pose as an early pubescent girl and do things that would look embarrassing for older women to do. Tasmin uses her androgynous body figure to undergo a Tomboyness Upgrade and becomes a Bifauxnen. Tasmin discovers breast cancer survivors who remove whole breasts to save their life through a documentary and a body positivity ad, so she doesn't treat her flat boobs as a weird thing. Or Tasmin herself is a breast cancer survivor, and the breasts removal surgery makes her stop worrying about her health problem. The Amazon Brigade requires some degree of breast size or lower to join the team without any side effects from overly big breasts, so Tasmin can apply the heroic training and join the team. Exploited: Tasmin starts a movement to make girls proud of their small breasts. Tasmin encourages another girl to be proud of her tiny chest size. Tasmin can easily crawl through tight spaces because of her small chest. Defied: Tasmin gets a boob job. Tasmin goes by "Thomas" and starts receiving hormones and surgery after he realizes that his flat chest doesn't satisfy him enough. Discussed: "Hah! Tasmin barely has any boobs! What man will date a stick like her?" "Shut up, Bob. Tasmin's breasts are perfectly fine, no matter their size. And it's not your right to make fun of them." Conversed: "Ugh! I'm so sick of the A-Cup Angst trope, especially in anime! I'm so glad to see a character who is unashamed of her flat chest, and isn't made a mockery of for it by the narrative!" "There's a show like that? I wanna watch it." Implied: Flat-chested Tasmin doesn't directly comment on her breasts either way, but her daring fashion sense flatters her figure and makes it clear she's perfectly comfortable in her body. Tasmin seems discomfort when she wears a Fake Boobs, but doesn't outright complain about it. Deconstructed: Tasmin might see small breasts as beautiful, but the rest of the world does not. She is mocked relentlessly by her peers for being proud of her flat chest since everybody else likes bigger breasts and doesn't see the reason why she wouldn't want them, they also gaslight her to hate herself. As a result, Tasmin loses her self-confidence and delves into A-Cup Angst. Since Tasmin obsessively defends her ideology by claiming her flat chest is safer, cuter, and more convenient than larger ones, she starts to fall into Not Like Other Girls thought and she assumes that real women don't have boobs as well as other female Tertiary Sexual Characteristics. She thinks all Big-Breast Pride must be slutty Brainless Beauty, she bullies D-Cup Distress girl as either a weakness faker or a pathetic loser, and she also calls out A-Cup Angst girl who undergoes a breast implant, viewing her as a Category Traitor and claiming that this action makes her become a Plastic Bitch. Reconstructed: Tasmin unlearns the toxic messages and societal brainwashing around her and learns to embrace her small breasts anyway. And she get a job as a Pettanko cosplayer and/or a Wholesome Crossdresser. Alternatively, Tasmin decides that she needn't concern herself with the opinions of her critics. Then she meets Diane, an well-endowed Amazonian Beauty who prove that being busty doesn't affect her actiony activities, and Tasmin learns that her positivity doesn't mean bragging down on girls with larger breasts. Played for Laughs: Tasmin wears a shirt that says "Itty Bitty Titty Committee" on it. It's the only shirt she's ever seen wearing. Played for Drama: Tasmin is an intersex or a Transgender girl who can't undergo a breast implant and doesn't really relate with big breasts, but once she got at least small boobs via either hormonal therapy or Gender Bending Applied Phlebotinum, she is extremely happy with it, and she fears that her little boobs will go and turn back at her dysphoric body again. Tasmin tricks her A-Cup Angst friend to thinks that the angsty feeling is actually D-Cup Distress, and tell her to remove her breasts instead of seeking bigger size ones. Once her friend reaches the Despair Event Horizon and commits suicide from it, Tasmin is too oblivious of why her friend kills herself. Played for Horror: Tasmin lives in a dark patriarchal Dystopia where women are expected to cater to the Male Gaze by any means possible, and are put into comas for genetic testing if they don't agree to meet these demands. Tasmin being proud of her flat chest and unwilling to get breast implants upsets the status quo, as well as triggers the men around her who think women only exist to be eye candy for them, and can't possibly conceive of a woman who doesn't center herself around what they want to see. As a result, she is at high risk for being put in a coma herself, and if she does, then she may only come out once she looks "perfect". Same with the "Played for Drama" above, but Tasmin removes her friend's breasts by herself, even she barely has surgical skills, and when her friend dies from severe surgery wounds, Tasmin praises of how beautiful her friend currently is.

MEDIA EXAMPLES

The eponymous Black★Rock Shooter wears a most noticeably showy outfit, despite her very obvious lack of assets. It's a safe bet to say she doesn't suffer from any body image issues. In the manga version, it gets subverted. Instead of being proud, it becomes somewhat of a Berserk Button. Chaika, one of the Catgirl aliens in Cat Planet Cuties, is very confident about her figure; particularly in comparison to fellow Catian Melvin. Kuroko Shirai from A Certain Scientific Railgun shows no angst whatsoever about being the least endowed amongst her friends, though that doesn't stop her from being stunned with admiration at the sight of Mii in a swimsuit. A body-stealing example occurs in Fairy Tail when Irene Belserion, who originally had one hell of a rack to go along with her strength, takes over Wendy's body and takes a moment to state that her small chest is rather cute, which is rather hilarious given Wendy's own issues on the subject. Then again, Irene was just happy to have a human body again no matter how it looked. The same quote as in Lucky Star later makes its way into Genshiken. Also, Sue was making the comment in regards to Ogiue's chest while the group was at a hot spring, leaving Ogiue a little freaked out between the personal nature of the comment and the fact Sue had been stalking her all day... Kyo in Girl Got Game doesn't seem to mind her small breasts, and is annoyed when she finds they've gotten bigger... but that's probably because she's disguising herself as a boy. Monaco of Hetalia: Axis Powers. When Taiwan is troubled by how huge some of the European girls (Ukraine, Hungary, Belgium, Belarus) are, Monaco tells her not to worry about such things. Nagi from Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens seems to carry this attitude, especially during the Beach Episode... only to be trumped by the appearance of a new Token Mini-Moe. Emotionless Girl Nozomu Ezomori from Kanokon is rather proud of her flatness - often calling the more busty Chizuru's chest "flab". Nonon Jakuzure from Kill la Kill may be flat-chested, but she shows no angst whatsoever about it. Umi Sonoda from Love Live! actually voices her own opinion in Nico's School Idol Diary about bust size to similarly less endowed Nico and Rin that there is nothing wrong at all about being less developed. Konata from Lucky Star, though she will only talk about it if someone else broaches the topic (in the quote, Konata is referencing the flat-chested Mayumi from the dating-sim game, SHUFFLE!. Mayumi is proud of her "lack of endowment", but Rin and his friends like to make fun of her for it). Konata: A flat chest is a status symbol! Extremely rare and valuable! Tsukasa: I guess I'm all right too. Minor character Chichigami from Negima! Magister Negi Magi isn't much of an example herself; however, her reaction to one of the main characters being embarrassed by her flat chest is notable. Chichigami: Large breasts may be fabulous, but tiny breasts, too, are wonderful! Shizuku from Omamori Himari is another Emotionless Girl who is also not embarrassed by showing her Token Mini-Moe body. Shizuku: There aren't many boys who can resist little girls... Ryoko and Ringo from Ōkami-san. Though they aren't quite proud of their distinct lack of assets, they aren't moping over it either. Panty from Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt is flatter than Stocking, yet enjoys how her breasts are more sensitive than hers. Not that it stops her in any way. Yukari in Rosario + Vampire gives this impression whenever she gets into a fight with Kurumu, though other times she seems a bit ashamed. Haqua of The World God Only Knows tries to use this as a defense when Nora mocks Haqua's small breasts but is obviously insecure. Maria Bamford occasionally draws attention to her (lack of) assets in the chesty department. For example, she notes with more than a little sarcasm that men can't get enough of "these 32 AA's", describes them as "perfect, rare, delicate miniatures". More generally, as part of a larger bit on body issues, she noted that she somehow managed to master being thin, but then they start laying the expectations. "Skinny is in, I've got that covered. But now you have to have muscle tone too! I'm already hungry and tired; now I gotta go work out?!" Marcel Lucont wrote a comedic poem about how small breasts are so much better than larger breasts, and that women should be proud of them. Ana Radic, a Serbian comedian, is greatly overjoyed that men pester her more well-endowed sister and has described her modestly endowed chest as a gift that allows people to focus on what she's saying. Considering most of her humor comes from being the Girl Next Door and a Shrinking Violet, she has a very strong male fanbase in her home country despite not being as chesty as the Serbian media says a woman should be, and she is thrilled about it. "It turns out, in comedy, being funny is important! Who knew? The world is crazy like that." Itty Bitty Titty Committee: While this isn't a major part of the film (despite the name), at one point main character Anna (Melonie Diaz) tells a young woman who wants breast augmentation that she's beautiful as she is (this is a contrast with her own well-endowed figure). Downplayed in Juno. The title character expresses annoyance when her breasts start to grow after she gets pregnant, apparently preferring it when she was flat-chested enough that she didn't need to wear a bra. Leah: I wish my fun-bags would get bigger... Juno: God, trust me, you don't. I have to actually wear a frickin' bra now, and rub all this nasty cocoa butter stuff all over myself, so...I dunno...my skin won't explode? The perfect rationale for why many women prefer to have smaller boobs came in Some Like It Hot. Sugar remarked that she admired "Daphne"'s flat-chested appearance: "Clothes hang better on you." Lampshaded in the movie Thoroughly Modern Millie, where flapper Millie (played by Julie Andrews) complained that her "fronts" made it difficult to wear her beads properly. She tries to flatten her chest but she's just too well-endowed. In Weird Science, the two protagonists consider designing the program to make the girl's breasts huge; but then Gary says, "Hold it, Wyatt, I know female stats. Anything bigger than a handful and you're looking at a sprained tongue." So they reduce them to average size (zigzagged in a way because while Lisa's bust doesn't turn out to be huge, she isn't exactly petite either). Although the exact size is never mentioned, Princess Rennsellaer in A Brother's Price is said to be less "full in the chest" than her sister Odelia, which doesn't bother her at all. It is hard to tell whether she considers it a plus, or never thinks about it at all. In Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire, Verity Price expresses relief that the (very literal) boob fairy has been sparing with her gifts to women of her family. Some gunplay by her grandmother, Alice Healy-Price, several decades ago may have had something to do with it. Jane from the Disgaea Novels is the daughter of Captain Gordon, Defender of Earth! and Jennifer, but does not appear to have inherited her mother's ample bust size. This suits her just fine though, as she's in love with Laharl (who has a phobia of women with large breasts). Cathy Ryan, Jack Ryan's wife from Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series, sometimes comments on her lack of a bustline. Mary Russell, the title character of the Mary Russell series. She is not saddened by her boyish figure and even said that her shape was popular in the current '20s. It also makes it easier for her to pass for a boy when she wants to. Project Runway: These generally are the types of the models that the show employs for its contestants, as it is easier to design around a women with a less voluptuous figure (less fabric needs to be used, fewer alterations need to be done, and less chance that the resulting outfit will split or rip under the pressure). Some designers feel so strongly that a smaller chested model is ideal that if they are asked to design for a "normal woman" later on, they will sometimes freak out and be completely at a loss on what to do. Michelle Visage on Rupauls Drag Race frequently butts heads with thinner queens who like to wear skimpy outfits with little to no padding or breast illusion on the runway. She warmed up to them in later seasons though, especially after having her implants removed. Street Smarts: Asked if she knew what "mosquito bites" were, one female subject proudly replied: "Itty-bitty titties!" Veronica Mars: Veronica herself. Troy: [asking about a car tire] Flat? Veronica: Just as God made me. Patty Loveless (a 30B) often shows her cleavage in her music videos and on her album covers. She also wears a see-through blouse in the video for "That's the Kind of Mood I'm In". P!nk in "Stupid Girls": Baby if I act like that / flipping my blond hair back / Push up my bra like that / I don't wanna be a stupid girl Shakira pokes fun at this: In the video of "Objection", she plays a girl who is cheated on by her boyfriend. When she confronts the "other woman", she pokes her boobs and they deflate. Next to her cheap silicon I look minimal / That's why in front of your eyes I'm invisible / But you gotta know small things also count. "Whenever, Wherever": Lucky for my breasts they're small and humble / So you don't confuse them with mountains The same line meaning the same thing as above in the Spanish version of the song "Suerte": Suerte que mis pechos sean pequeños / Y no los confundas con montañas Chilli of TLC has said that she used to feel self-conscious about her small breasts, and it took awhile to make peace with them. This is addressed in the video for "Unpretty," where she plays a woman whose boyfriend suggests implants. But when she goes in for the surgery, she sees a young woman (disturbingly young, in fact) crying in pain as her implants are graphically removed. Chilli runs out of the clinic and it's implied that she dumps her boyfriend at the end. In real life, she changed her mind on implants after learning they'd permanently kill her ability to breastfeed, since motherhood was a major life goal of hers. Even when her son grew past that stage and she opted not to have more kids, by that point Chilli had grown to accept her small breasts. She's also jokingly said that TLC stood for "Titty-Less Crew", as all three members were on the smaller side. The minor goddess Aura from Classical Mythology is described as a "manlike" virgin who makes fun of Artemis for having a large bust, while at the same time claiming that her almost non-existent bust is better. This does not end well for her. Disgaea: Archers in the series are proud of their lack of assets, since they would just get in the way of shooting properly. In Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten's DLC Nether Battle tournament, there's a scene where flat characters talk about the difficulties that come with being buxom, and how lucky are they don't have to worry about that. Then it's revealed they've been attacking every buxom character they come across. In HunieCam Studio 'Flat Chest' is a fetish that can be catered to. Audrey, Zoey, and Lailani all appeal to that. Ryuujou from KanColle prides herself on her distinctive silhouette, referencing how the real Ryuujou did not have an island on it, making her carrier deck completely flat. However, official 4-komas and especially fanart gives her A-Cup Angst. Rita in Tales of Vesperia comments that she's glad she has a flat chest because boobs the size of Judith's would bounce around too much and make it difficult for her to concentrate. Suika Ibuki from Touhou Project is often portrayed as having this in Fanon. In fact, there's an entire song titled Tsurupettan, complete with a video (warning: very addictive!), which is essentially a high-spirited hymn to pettankos all around the world. In case you are interested in the origins of the song and video, refer to this post. For extra hilarity, the video has Kaguya quoting Konata's famous line in the background (see 0:52). Then combine that song with the above mentioned Lucky Star, for ensuing hilarity. Innocent Key takes the joke and runs over the hills waving it like some prankster waving a stolen bra as though it was a flag with this song, Touhou Holy Water Festival - The Troubled Maidens Year ~Pappa~, which portrays many of the girls as being utterly insecure about their size. Umineko borrows the song, when Jessica cosplays as Marisa in EP2 of the original sound novel (5th episode of the anime). However, Jessica herself isn't this.