Sie werden nur entsorgt!: gender options of aging in Sibille Berg``` s play "Ladies are waiting"

Abstract

This work continues the initiative launched in the study "Anti-Utopia Konstanz Dennig" Extasy Rave ": Representations of old age." In the light of literary gerontology, the article analyzes the manifestations of stereotyping of characters of pre-retirement age, aging processes, manifestations of ageism and misogyny with political coloration and problematic and semantic aspects of corporality and tolerance in Sibylle Berg's play "Ladies Are Waiting" (2012). The sarcastic dialogues present in the play demonstrate the stereotypical thought patterns inherent in modern society regarding the social roles of older women. They portray aging as a physical and moral decline and a burden on society. Discriminatory practices against women over the age of 50 are not only verbal but also physical (forced relocation to the dungeons), which echoes K. Dennig's drama. Age discourse is manifested through the coverage of aspects of corporeality with a misogynistic and sexist coloration. In the images of the female geronto group, Sibille Berg exposes the stigma of late maturity in negative stereotypes associated with female attractiveness, aging, gender. Attention is also paid to the current trends of German-language theater, which plays an important role in covering social issues such as ageism, stereotyping, misogyny. The analysis of theatrical productions and challenges, realized by the author herself, allows to attribute her work to the post-dramatic theater, which, according to Lehmann, is aimed at maintaining the internal unity of society. Conclusions are made about the possibilities of the author's restructuring of discriminatory stereotypes of aging and prejudice against women. In the final act of the work, Sibylle Berg reveals the unexpectedly negative consequences that ageism and self-stereotyping can lead to in the aging process, which threaten to maintain the moral and ethical qualities of modern German society, which focuses on tolerance in its political and cultural directions.