What she says: I’m fine
What she means: In Kung Fu Panda fanworks, Tigress is often portrayed as a violent, temperamental tomboy while Viper is portrayed as demure and polite and a full-blown girly-girl. However, canon shows that Tigress is actually calm and slow to anger unless something really agitates her (such as being passed up for a position she’s been training HER ENTIRE LIFE for in favor of a fanboy who struggles to even climb the stairs), and while her fighting style is aggressive and her personality is curt, her body language is often reserved and even traditionally feminine. Then there’s Viper, whose immediate response to the problem of a building full of cannons AND LIVING, BREATHING PEOPLE MANNING THEM is “We bring down the building!” with the most gleeful tone and the biggest smile on her face, and who canonically entered the world of kung fu because a giant warrior injured her father and her response was essentially “Square up, bitch.” She’s a sweetheart and a peacemaker, make no mistake, but this girl loves a good fight. There’s so much nuance to each character, but they’re often stripped down to “the tomboy and the girly-girl.” Why? In this essay I will
