The film portrays a few days in the life of fourteen-year-old Lili, camping with her family in the French coastal town of Biarritz. One night, she persuades her older brother to take her to a disco where she begins a series of risky flirtations with older men. Self-confident but confused and impatient about her virginity, she tests the limits of power and attraction, only to discover that her own emotions and actions are not always under her control. After a failed relationship with a middle-aged Lothario, Lili embarks on an awkward first sexual encounter with a boy her own age. Although they are played by the famous Jean-Pierre Léaud and Étienne Chicot, the men in this film function almost as props. Semi-autobiographical, Virgin / Junior Size 36 is a radical exploration of sexual maturation and alienation from the perspective of a young girl, while Breillat creates a layered and provocative study of female sexuality. The film was considered controversial due to the age difference between the characters and the frank depiction of a young girl’s sexuality, but Breillat’s piece is far more complex than at first meets the eye.