Intro: Last September, a young Iranian woman by the name of Masha Amini was brutally beaten and killed by morality police in Iran. The law enforcement claimed that Amini was wearing her hijab in an inappropriate way and therefore needed to be “reeducated.” News of this tragic event rapidly spread thanks to social media and soon there were mass demonstrations not only in Iran, but all around the world. Instantly, there was an outpouring of support on social media. Whether it be Tik Toks made to educate people about the fight in Iran, or videos of peaceful protesters being met with violence in the streets, the fight gained ground online at rapid pace. The movement spread with unprecedented force and soon a trend emerged of women cutting their hair in defiance of the Iranian government. What started as a brave protest in the streets of Tehran soon became an international phenomenon. Women all around the world began cutting off their hair in support of the protests in Iran. Months after this trend died out, videos continue to emerge to remind viewers that despite a downswing in news coverage, the fight for women’s rights wages on today.
Thesis statement: The trend of women cutting their hair identifies the commonplace of hair to rally women around the world in support of the conflict in Iran. Both the tiktok and the hair cutting trend seek to raise awareness and support for the ongoing women’s rights movement in Iran. While the tiktok uses the commonplace that there’s strength in numbers to encourage views to spread information, the hair cutting trend uses the commonplaces of hair, rebellion, and sacrifice to evoke a more emotional response from people and encourage them to take physical action to support the movement.
Body: The trend of people cutting their hair in support of the movement uses the commonplace of hair to unite people around the world in support of Iranian women. The vast majority of the world population connect to the commonplace of having hair. This commonality allows women all over the world, women of various ethnicities, religions, and backgrounds to all show their support for a common fight. One article from Insider features a Muslim woman cutting her headscarf while another video shows a Canadian woman giving herself a buzz cut on camera.
Body: When the women of Iran cut their hair publicly, they are making a defiant protest. The event that triggered this movement was centered around Iran’s hijab law. The law requires women to wear a hijab to cover their hair when in public spaces. Thus, women cutting their hair is a symbolic attack on the fundamental values of the Iranian regime. Masha Amini was brutally killed by morality police because they thought she was wearing her hijab inappropriately. In removing their hijabs and cutting their hair in the streets, the women of Iran are bravely risking their lives, showing their determination to fight against the oppression of the Iranian regime.
Body: The trend uses the commonplace of grief to gain support and make an emotional appeal to viewers of the trend. While cutting their hair represents an act of defiance from protests in Iran, it also shows an act of desperation, anger, and grief. These emotions are all splayed across the faces of the women in almost all the videos that you will come across on the internet. As these women resort to chopping off their hair, ridding themselves of part of their identity, it is clear that they are desperate for change. Women kneeling by the coffins of their fallen sisters and protesters, chopping their hair in tribute and in grief, evokes a strong emotional response from viewers of the images. It causes them to feel grief as well, grief that people are being treated so poorly and sympathy for the intense pain they are witnessing. As a result of these emotions, they want to take action and show their support, they want to be part of the fight. This is what makes the trend so powerful. Because of the images and videos associated with women physically cutting their hair, the action has come to represent an act of grief. As this pain is witnessed around the world, many women are connecting to that emotion and cutting their hair in support.
Source 1: Why Iranian Women Are Cutting Their Hair and Burning Their Headscarves in Protest (today.com)
In this article from Today, they provide an update as of last September of what is happening in Iran. They talk about how women are burning their headscarves in the streets in an act of taboo defiance. They also discuss the emerging trend of female protestors cutting their hair as an act of protest, directly connecting the article to my chosen artifact. The article also includes the powerful image of an Iranian woman cutting her hair outside the Iranian consulate in Turkey as a large group protests alongside her.
Source 2: Why Iranian women are cutting their hair | CNN
This article from CNN also explores the conflict in Iran and takes a closer look at how the protests are spreading grief and anger across the nation. The article includes a video of a woman chopping off her hair as she kneels next to the coffin of her dead brother. The video clearly shows how cutting off one’s hair represents an act of grief and desperation. The article goes on to quote protestors as they explain the significance of cutting their hair. The regime holds women’s hair as a symbol of female beauty and purity as they are supposed to hide their hair in public. Thus, cutting the hair directly opposes the regime and tells them that the women of Iran are done upholding their oppressive values.
Source 3: Iranian Women Cut Hair on TikTok to Protest Death of Mahsa Amini (insider.com)
The social media videos that circulated following the death of Mahsa Amini are the main focus of this article. It includes several tik toks posted by women of varying ethnicities and religions, showering the universal nature of the trend. I discuss how the trend identifies hair as a commonplace, and this article supports how it was in fact a unifying force that allowed women all around the world to show their support for a common cause.
Source 4: Unveiling Resistance: The Struggle for Women’s Rights in Iran | Human Rights Watch (hrw.org)
This article from Human Rights Watch provides a deeper dive into the ongoing conflict in Iran. By providing a historical perspective, it’s able to emphasize the unprecedented force of the current movement. It also talks about how the protests have drawn global sympathy, a topic I explore in my draft. The article also goes in great detail to explain the fundamental role social media has played in the protests, a general idea reflected in my draft as my artifact is a trend on social media.
I love your second artifact and how you discuss its commonplace and pathos to motivate its supporters to fight for change. Specifically, I thought the commonplace of hair was unique and a very interesting angle. As a girl, it is definitely something I can relate to and thus connect to the movement. I also agree that watching women cut their hair in such an emotional manner evokes emotion. Hair is typically a defining feature of someone and watching others remove it indicates the severity of the movement. One suggestion I have is to remove the mention of your first artifact from your thesis. It should be mentioned in the intro of course and elaborated on for how it connects to the hair cutting, but the thesis does compare and contrast just a little bit.