IO

Key Exerpt: Anecdotes

To begin with, Satrapi uses anecdotes to explore the restriction of female autonomy from a young age. In this anecdote, Satrapi depicts her early childhood under the Islamic regime. “From left to right: Golnaz, Mahshid, Marine, Minna.”  The class photo shows all the girls forcibly veiled, although Satrapi identifies each girl by name, the veil makes them visually indistinguishable, highlighting the loss of individuality imposed by the regime. Satrapi purposefully uses anecdotes to communicate the restrictions on women’s freedom faced within the Islamic Revolution.

Key Exerpt: Dialogue

Moreover, the use of dialogue helps illuminate the experiences young girls feel in patriarchal societies, as the young girls are playing around with the veils rather than acknowledging their purpose. The quote “Execution in the name of freedom” alongside their casual and playful dialogue demonstrates how these patriarchal ideologies are introduced to girls at a young age, causing oppressive expectations to become normalised rather than questioned. Therefore, Satrapi uses the girls’ dialogue to show how patriarchal societies shape young girls’ understanding of freedom, ultimately preventing them from recognising the restrictions placed on them.

Key Exerpt: Symbolism

Beyond dialogue, Satrapi uses the veil as a symbol of the oppression imposed on women from a young age. The veiled girl yells “Execution in the name  of freedom” while choking another girl who is not wearing her veil correctly, mirroring the violence she has witnessed from adults during the Islamic Revolution. Because the girls are too young to fully understand the ideology surrounding them, they begin to reproduce the patriarchal values they observe. Satrapi therefore suggests that oppression becomes more powerful when it is internalised, as these values can shape how women understand and respond to restrictions placed upon them. In this way, the veil represents not only external control, but also the internalisation of patriarchal expectations that limits women’s freedom.

Excerpt 1: Symbolism

Beyond this, Satrapi uses symbolism in excerpt 1. The quote: “Last year she was wearing a mini skirt showing off her beefy thighs ….., and now Madame is wearing a chador.” The mini skirt symbolises personal freedom, bodily autonomy, and the Western-leaning culture allowed under the former Shah's regime. In contrast, the chador symbolises the sudden loss of individual choice, the imposition of strict government control, and the mandatory modesty forced upon women by the new Islamic Republic. This contrast highlights how rapidly the regime transformed women’s freedom, demonstrating how political control can dictate women’s appearance and restrict their autonomy.

Excerpt 2: Anecdotes

Moreover, her anecdotes distinguish the female experience of growing up in patriarchal societies. In expert 2, Marjane’s mother says: “It’s against the law to kill a virgin…So a guardian of the revolution marries her and takes her virginity before executing her.” The anecdote exposes how patriarchal authority reduces girls to their purity and permits their bodies to be controlled through gender-based violence. Consequently, Satrapi demonstrates how patriarchal societies control extends to women’s bodies, removing their bodily autonomy and restricting their freedom to resist the regime.

Excerpt 3: Dialogue

Additionally, dialogue explores the unseen narrative of women through Marjane’s mother, Taji, demonstrating how patriarchal control forces women to compromise their autonomy. Taji says, “They said women like me should be pushed up against a wall and fucked, then thrown in the garbage.” Although the regime claims the veil protects women, its self-appointed “guardians of modesty” use sexualised threats against them. By comparing an unveiled woman to “garbage,” the fundamentalists suggest that women who resist the state’s dress code have no value or place in society. Thus, Taji’s submission reveals how patriarchal authority restricts women’s freedom by making resistance dangerous.

Transition for S to L

Transitioning from literary works, Donnelly explores the restriction of women’s freedom through internalised and social forms of control, particularly rape and victim-blaming culture. Firstly, Donnelly uses expressionism, symbolism and composition to comment on women’s experiences within patriarchal societies. In the cartoon, she presents how women’s bodily autonomy can be restricted by the fear of sexual violence, symbolising the broader loss of freedom women experience in society.

KSI: AIGTGR?C: Expression and title

Through the woman’s worried facial expression, Donnelly presents a woman who appears insecure about how she is perceived in public. Furthermore, the title, Am I Going to Get Raped Checklist, reinforces this anxiety by suggesting that women are expected to monitor their own behaviour and appearance to avoid sexual violence. This shifts responsibility away from the perpetrator and onto the victim, highlighting how victim-blaming culture can restrict women’s freedom by making them feel responsible for preventing their own assault.

KSI: AIGTGR?C: Composition

Additionally, the cartoon’s composition centres the woman, while thought bubbles surround her with questions such as ‘Skirt too short?’  and ‘Hair too provocative?’ show how women internalise victim-blaming, shifting from the freedom to wear what they want to constantly second-guessing whether their appearance could make them a potential victim. This thought process creates the illusion that women can prevent rape through their own choices. Rather than simply fearing violence, the woman begins to police herself, creating a form of internal surveillance. Through this, Donnelly suggests that patriarchal expectations restrict women’s freedom by making them regulate their own appearance and behaviour.

KSI: AIGTGR?C: Symbolism

Furthermore, the woman’s clothes symbolise her lack of agency. Donnelly uses these everyday fashion choices to symbolise the absurdity of victim-blaming, as ordinary clothing is treated as though it can determine a woman’s vulnerability. By presenting something as ordinary as clothing as a potential cause of violence, Donnelly highlights the unreasonable expectations placed on women to dress “appropriately.” This suggests that women’s freedom is restricted when even ordinary choices about their appearance become subject to societal judgement.

SI1: Expressionism

SI1 also explores expressionism, where the woman carries a terrified expression while a cartoonified Donald Trump reaches under her dress with a careless expression. This piece was in reference to a videotape released of Trump talking about women, in reference to the quote ‘grab them by the pussy’, later rebranded as ‘locker room talk’. By rebranding sexist and objectifying language as casual conversation between men, Donnelly highlights how patriarchal societies can normalise the discussion and violation of women’s bodies. Ultimately, the contrast in expression demonstrates how the normalisation of sexism can undermine women’s bodily autonomy, restricting their freedom through the threat and acceptance of patriarchal behaviour.

SI2: Composition

Similarly, Donnelly’s use of composition in SI2 depicts 6 diverse women and asks what they have in common. In the centre of the cartoon, the main descriptors are“Soft” and “Sweet", or anatomical: “Breasts” and “Vaginas”. Only towards the bottom do the women reveal what they have in common: they have all been victims of crime. Donnelly contrasts the seemingly light-hearted presentation with the seriousness of their experiences, highlighting how women are initially defined by their bodies rather than their experiences. By placing this revelation towards the bottom of the cartoon, Donnelly marginalises their experiences as victims, reflecting how patriarchal societies can reduce women to their bodies, diminishing their individual identities 

SI3: symbolism

Through symbolism, Donnelly critiques society’s expectations of how women should behave in SI3. Having a “guide” explores the never-ending expectations society places on women, evident in the quote ‘You Name It ’, signifying that nothing a woman does is free from public scrutiny. By presenting these expectations in the form of a guide, Donnelly makes social rules appear almost instructional, as though women are expected to learn and follow them in order to be accepted. It covers both external presentation (dressing, walking) and internal character (acting, talking), showing that society leaves no room for raw individualism.Through this, Donnelly demonstrates how social pressure to conform restricts women’s freedom and autonomy.

Conclusion

To conclude, both Satrapi and Donnelly effectively expose the restriction of women’s freedom within patriarchal societies, but they present this control through different forms. Satrapi focuses on external and institutional control, using anecdotes, symbolism and dialogue to reveal how the Islamic regime restricts women from a young age. In contrast, Donnelly explores internalised and social control, using symbolism, expressionism and composition to demonstrate how women are conditioned to monitor their own behaviour and appearance. Despite these differences, both authors reveal how patriarchal expectations can become normalised, particularly through relatable experiences of growing up as a woman. Therefore, although Satrapi presents oppression through the direct authority of the state while Donnelly exposes its social and psychological effects, both effectively demonstrate how patriarchal societies limit female freedom and autonomy.