Name: Jennifer Schettler

Major: English Literature

Minor: Post-colonial Studies

Thesis Title:

Gender and Aging in Literature: The Humorous Subversion of Sexism and Ageism

While sexism and ageism are rampant in America, this thesis argues that the humor found in collections of essays by aging women directly subverts society’s preconceived notions of gender and age. The works of Nora Ephron, Nardi Reeder Campion, Martha Bolton, and Melinda Rainey Thompson create an avenue through which readers may deconstruct negative and harmful stereotypes of aging women, and also facilitate discussions about gender and aging. By examining the types of humor, such as hyperbolic exaggeration, sarcasm, satire, and self-deprecation, found within humorous essays, we may better understand how the authors use humor as a tool to challenge society’s prejudices and effect social change. And, subsequently, this thesis considers how my own critical analysis and others like it serve to broaden a small but potent discourse surrounding women and age.