How does the fact that Marjane’s character is female and a child affect the story and the meaning of the book? How would the book be different if she were male or an adult?

I think a male perspective on sex and culture, even from an Iranian male, would be different because of cultural context. Austrian culture confounds Marjane as it is alien. For example, Momo’s kiss is a shock to Marjane in view of the reality that she has never been kissed by anyone. Besides, Marjane and Julie’s dialogues before slumbering are a causative factor in Marjane’s culture shock. For example, when Julie acknowledges that she has already had sexual intercourse with approximately eighteen males, Marjane is discomfited because, in Iran, “even when you had sex before marriage you hid it.” Julie’s sex- related deliberations make Marjane to question whether she is anomalous for being a virgin at her age. Generally, Marjane falls from innocence due to the cultural shakeup that she comes upon in Austria.