Hypergamy is the practice of marrying or partnering with a spouse perceived to hold higher social, economic or mating status than oneself, colloquially called marrying up. Its inverse, hypogamy, describes partnering with someone of lower perceived status; both terms describe a status-driven rule for arranging or choosing marriage partners rather than a specific ceremony.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Hypergamous marriage, in which a bride marries into a higher-status family, is historically associated with dowry inflation as families compete to secure higher-status grooms for their daughters.
Endogamous marriage systems, such as the South Asian caste system, frequently incorporate hypergamous norms permitting a bride to marry a groom of somewhat higher status within the same endogamous group.
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