Gender Stereotypes In Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis

Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis is a very eye-opening book. Marji’s progressive family has raised her to be independent and taught her that both genders are equal. However, with the rise of the Islamic regime that holds power for the majority of the book, Marji’s world is overthrown. She is veiled and separated from her friends. This is especially hard for Marji because of her upbringing and her early education at a secular French school where boys and girls were taught together. Because of the new, oppressive life that she is forced to lead, Marji rebels against her government and anyone else who is forcing her to conform to the oppressive Muslim laws. Although Marji has the usual amount of teenage rebellion, she is more rebellious because she …show more content…
Islamic guards have harassed Marji’s mom while out running errands: “They said that women like me should be pushed up against a wall and fucked, and then thrown in the garbage. And if I didn’t want that to happen, I should wear the veil! (Satrapi 74)” In Marji’s world, if women do not act exactly as they are expected to, then they will be punished. Wearing the veil to show compliance goes against all of Marji’s family’s beliefs, so at first, she and her mother do not wear it. However as the book progresses, it becomes more and more dangerous to demonstrate views against the theocracy. This is the turning point, when Marji’s mother realizes more fully that she needs to be everything that she is supposed to be or she will be “fucked” and tossed aside as though she were “garbage,” which demonstrates just how misogynistic the revolutionary guards have become. However, Marji does …show more content…
Marji and her family have to hide contraband alcohol from government soldiers: “They followed us all the way home… ‘Grandma, Marji, when we’re home, get out first. I’ll try to stall him. Flush all the alcohol down the toilet. (Satrapi 109)” Even though it might seem as though Marji’s family is taking an unnecessary risk by hiding alcohol, they believe that it is worth it. Because they cannot rebel large-scale without getting into trouble, they choose smaller ways to revolt against their government. After lots of begging and cajoling, Marji finally convinces her parents to let her participate in a large-scale demonstration: “Guns may shoot and knives may carve, but we won't wear your silly scarves!” (Satrapi 76) Marji’s first demonstration represents that her parents believe that she is becoming mature enough to become more involved with bigger issues in her life, but it also symbolizes that the Islamic regime is becoming too dangerous for any of them to ignore. At her first demonstration, Marji witnessed firsthand the brutality that the government would show to the people that wished to make their voice known against the government. However, instead of weakening Marji, it only strengthened her