Petite Pride

"Then, this line from a game said that a flat chest is a status symbol! A rarity! And when you think about it, there's a demand right? So, word for word, I'm valuable!"

— Konata, Lucky Star

Buxom women are commonly considered more attractive, so those who are flat-chested tend to be self-conscious of their size. But there are girls who see their lack of assets as a plus. This may either come off as a humorous form of coping, or it may be played straight.

Flat chests are usually associated with the young, and a girl with Petite Pride will play this up as much as she can, usually to make herself seem cute and innocent. They also avoid many symptoms of D-Cup Distress and have an advantage in playing sports where big breasts might get in the way. Sweet Polly Olivers and Wholesome Crossdressers tend to find flat chests useful as well.

Contrast A-Cup Angst, Big-Breast Pride, or Buxom Beauty Standard and Proud Beauty. Compare D-Cup Distress. Anime Fan Speak calls this sort of character Pettanko.

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• 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.

Comedy

• 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."

Fan Works

• As stated in Aikan Muyo
  Aeka: More than a handful is a tongue-sprainer.

Films — Live-Action

• 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).

Literature

• 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.

Live-Action TV

• 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.

Music & Music Videos

• 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.

Myths & Religion

• 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.

Pro Wrestling

• The Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew are proudly "silicone free". And while Radiant Rain boasts breasts no amount of chest exercises can shrink, the Lovely Lacey is just as boastful about her much smaller rack.
• Rebecca Knox is eager to show off her chest, despite her less than large breasts. They were worth sacrificing for her upper body muscles.
• Black Rose taught a pole dancing class while wrestling for IWA Puerto Rico and was even featured in televised advertisements for it. It didn't last though, and among the criticism was that she needed surgery to be more marketable. Rose refused on the grounds she was "too tomboy for titties".
• While Thunder Rosa rejected suggestions to go nude, as it would clash with her brand image, she took a liking to the glamour shoots of World Wonder Ring ST★RDOM and has since taken many opportunities to show she has small tits and loves it.

Video Games

• 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.

Webcomics

• In Magience, Crystal doesn't like having large breasts, so she deliberately gives Rune a flat chest.
  Hydra: Flat as a washboard. You're practically concave!
  Rune: Yes ma'am!
• Played for laughs in Misfile when resident Pettanko Missi immediately switches from A-Cup Angst to Petite Pride because Ash accidentally gave her the impression that she prefers small-breasted women. Missi instantly goes from angsting over her flat chest (her Imagine Spot is the page image for I Have Boobs, You Must Obey!) to trying to capitalize on it.
• Oglaf:
  • Mistress is very flat-chested but given the kind of clothes she wears, it's probably safe to say she's not self-conscious about it.
  • Greir is also small, but it never seems to affect her.
• Twice Blessed has Pella, who definitely can work the petite look.

Western Animation

• In the "Beefsquatch" episode of Bob's Burgers, Linda goes on Hey Good Cookin', pulls up her shirt and reveals her 36A breasts on live television.