Nowadays, we face different stereotypes with respect to our gender, race, age and even profession. However, are these stereotypes truly reflecting who we are? Or is it just simply a general picture and guidance of how we should be?

In this blog, I will be examining the female stereotypes about the veil in the comic book Persepolis written by Marjane Satrapi. This historical and political context of this book is based on Iran in 1980s. At that time, women were often isolated, viewed as inferior to men, unable to express their thoughts and unable to enjoy the same opportunities as men.

 

The Portrayal of Female Stereotypes in Persepolis

In Persepolis, there are some scenes where we can identify such stereotypes on women, and most of these stereotypes were regarded as repressive.

The most obvious example is that women had to wear veils. Veils had the symbolic meaning of representing the imprisonment of women as they were forbidden from showing their own identities and individuality.

As we can see in the panel above, boys and girls were separated all of a sudden. However, such separation was not simply just a physical separation of both genders, but an indirect way to inform the society that there is a strong power and authority difference between male and females. Men have dominated the power within the society through oppressing the other gender, thus reducing the freedom and opportunities of women.

 

Women’s Fight Against Traditional Gender Stereotypes

Even though stereotypes are created within a particular culture, it doesn’t mean that individuals have to obey it. Reactions are individually-based, and we should stand up for ourselves like how Marjane and her mother did.

When veils were first required, women were protesting everywhere in the streets, and this included Marjane’s mother. She couldn’t accept that fact that women had to be restricted on their freedom and wanted to fight for equal gender rights. Even though Marjane’s mother was caught in a photo and had to dye her hair as to prevent getting arrested, her attempt to make changes upon such oppression against women showed us that we have the right to choose our reactions to stereotype and threats.

Under the influence of Marjane’s mother, Marjane had a similar personality as well. She was brave and independent, and this contributed to her rebel against the thought that women should be able to present themselves towards the public. In the dialogues Marjane had with another Muslim woman, we can see how hard she tried to defend herself from such judgments, thus reminding the audience again that reactions toward stereotypes are decided upon themselves.

 

Conflict Theory and Female Stereotypes

The discussion on female stereotypes in this book reminds me of Marx’s conflict theory which we learned in our sociology class. He proposed that social problems are created when different social groups compete for scarce resources. As discussed above, we understand that women are often oppressed by men who are identified as the dominant group. Due to this reason, it is tough for women to make decisions or have equal opportunities within society. In the book, women’s choices were often disregarded and their protests on the veil were seen as almost meaningless since no change would have been made. The power differences between genders thus show us that it is hard to get rid of negative female stereotypes.

 

Final Thoughts

Gender stereotypes towards women are hard to get rid of since it was shown that they affect the way people interpret and remember information. They are not merely stereotypical images of who they are, instead, it has an enormous effect in negatively affecting the way women behave and are treated in daily life, and hopefully, the society could raise more awareness to consequences that such stereotypes may lead to.

P.S. If you’re interested in other discussions on Persepolis, you may also check out Patrick’s blog on heroism!

 

 

Works Cited:

Ellemers, Naomi. “Gender Stereotypes.” Annual Review of Psychology, vol. 69, no. 1, Apr. 2018, pp. 275–298., doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-122216-011719.

Learning, Lumen. “Sociology.” Lumen, courses.lumenlearning.com/alamo-sociology/chapter/reading-theoretical-perspectives-on-gender/.

Spranger, Katie. “Gender Roles – Persepolis Project.” Prezi.com, 9 Apr. 2011, prezi.com/rbqkyfynbaie/gender-roles-persepolis-project/.

Staff, Investopedia. “Conflict Theory.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 21 Sept. 2018, www.investopedia.com/terms/c/conflict-theory.asp.