The Perils of Growing Up Flat-Chested

The Perils of Growing Up Flat-Chested is a romantic short by Yulin Kuang.  Katya is, well, a flat-chested girl, and she is quite insecure about the size of her breasts.  She tries hard to make them grow bigger before her study date with her crush, Owen.  Things did not turn out the way she thinks they would, and the short ends with Owen and Katya talking it out above a swimming pool, the unravelling of their insecurities and the beginning of a relationship.

Irene Choi (Katya) captured her character well, with the insecurities and anxiety of a high school teenaged girl.  The short is an adorable and honest depiction of what goes through a teenage girl's mind in her coming of age years; not only with the breasts, but the nervousness and awkwardness of finding the right guy, of starting a relationship.

Being a small-chested girl that I am, I have moved past the phase of hating them or being ashamed of them.  Or actually, I don't think I have ever disliked my breasts, so I couldn't say I relate to Katya that much, even though we are kind of on the same boat.  I guess I never was the type to crave for bigger chests.  I just find having two big blobs of fat in front of your chest pretty inconvenient.  Don't be mistaken though, I totally love the shape of women's body.  If you are blessed with a big chest, you go, girl! I've never thought into this that much, that the size of my breasts, or a girl's breasts will affect her love life. I mean, if it does, if a guy doesn't want you because of your bust size, girl, he is NOT a keeper.

There are two things Owen said while they were sitting on the diving board that made me pause and think for a second.  The first is, 'We (as in boys) consider ourselves lucky just to touch you'.  The first reaction I had to this line while watching it was, 'are we that precious?' Society and the media have built up a certain sense of preciousness in women and I can't say it is a good or a bad thing. It's bad in a sense that it creates a certain barrier between males and females, as if women are untouchables, and men have to tip-toe and find a way around every time.  While, it's good obviously, because we don't need no more sexual molesters roaming the streets harassing people.  It's ultimately good, I guess.

The second thing that Owen said is, 'Look, I don't have a six pack.  I have this weird belly button.' Being a girl, I maximize my insecurities a whole ton, and always think that guys have no such problems.  Silly enough, I didn't actually realize (I mean I do see it on TV and movies and stuff, but...) guys crush on girls too, until I was maybe 14 years old.  What Owen said reminds me that everybody has insecurities and I am not alone.  You are not alone.

I really enjoyed this short and it is definitely a delightful story to see.