Due to the nature of artistic choices made in "Persepolis" by virtue of it being an illustrated memoir, readers have faced difficulty in placing it into a genre. The term "novel" most commonly refers to books that are fiction. Thus, there is some controversy surrounding how to classify the genre of "Persepolis", being that it is non-fiction. Nima Naghibi and Andrew O'Malley, illustrate this by stating how bookstores have had issues with shelving "Persepolis" under a single label. Furthermore, scholars like Hillary Chute argue that "Persepolis", like other similar books, should be called a “graphic narrative” instead of a “graphic novel.” She argues that the stories these works contain are unique in themselves and challenge popular historical narratives. Chute explains that graphic narratives defy convention portraying complex narratives of trauma emphasize a different approach on discussing issues of “unspeakability, invisibility, and inaudibility that have tended to characterize recent trauma theory-as well as a censorship-driven culture at large.” She adds that this technique of uncovering the invisible is an influential feminist symbol. Chute contends that "Persepolis" highlights this ‘unseen’ by appearing to be visually simplistic so that it can draw attention to the intense political events happening in the story.