The Coping Strategy of Women Members of the Former East German Intelligentsia

Abstract

In this article I analyze the coping strategy of members of the Louise Otto-Peters Society of Leipzig, Germany, that attracts women members of the former East German intelligentsia, who share a common predicament: they have lost their jobs and professional status consequent to East Germany's collapse. They cope with their predicament by re-experiencing themselves as able professionals and organizing public events that focus on Louise Otto-Peters (1819–1895), founder of the National German Women's Organization. Based on their coping strategy, I create a framework for analyzing similar associations. My framework highlights the following components: the members' predicament, status claims, intended audience, and the symbolic means that they deploy to realize their status claims.