If Marjane Were a Boy...

Before 1979, women in Iran were making significant progress towards acquiring rights like men. Women were starting to show up in professional sectors as local government officials, ambassadors, police officers, and various other jobs. 

They had been adopting western fashion in addition to choosing to wear a hijab or not, attending higher education, and mingling freely among the opposite sex. 

After the revolution, women in Iran are required to wear the hijab in public. Citizens segregate themselves from the opposite sex during prayer and even during weddings. They cannot swim in public in a bathing suit, or attend sporting games. Many women were leaving the country to achieve higher education because it was banned, but later the country reopened this opportunity for women reluctantly. Schools are all segregated by sex, which we see Satrapi react to on page 4. 

I think if Satrapi was a boy, the story would show significantly different aspects of Iranian society. We would not see much coverage of the hijab resistance, we would not see Satrapi learn the value of the hijab. Perhaps her parents would be more lenient with allowing her to attend protests if she were a boy. The relationship between Marjane and Mehri, their maid, would be different as well. I do not think it would be nearly as close and special to Marjane. Perhaps, Marjane's relationship with her uncle Anoosh would not be as special. I'm not sure she would be as curious and involved with the revolution and regime because it may not affect her as much if she was a boy. Perhaps we would see more of Marjane's fear towards the war and becoming a soldier, or being sent to prison. Maybe Marjane would be very concerned for his mother and grandmother. That could drive her to rebel and protest along side other men and women. If Marjane were a boy, I do not think her dreams would be deemed crazy or unrealistic by her teachers at school. Maybe she would be granted more freedom to dream and want to be a prophet or a leader. I also think her relationship with God would be different. I am not sure how it would be different, but perhaps she would not feel the need to talk to God about her dreams because more people would be in support of them. 

Overall, I think Persepolis would be a significantly different story if it was written from the perspective of a boy. The importance of the regime and revolution may not be fully encompassed if Satrapi was the opposite sex. I would be curious to read a novel similar to this from a male perspective, just to see the differences.