Hypogamy
Hypogamy refers to a marriage in which an individual chooses a partner from a lower social stratum, class, or educational level. This concept challenges traditional patterns of homogamy, where partners share similar backgrounds, and hypergamy, where women typically marry men of higher status. The idea gained prominence in sociological discussions, particularly through Robert Merton’s examination of interracial marriages in the early 1940s, suggesting that racial dynamics complicate social stratification. Hypogamy has often been viewed in the context of historical gender roles, where women, seeking upward mobility, would marry men who may have lower social status but greater economic stability.
In more recent years, research indicates that many biracial couples often display educational and economic homogamy, questioning the motivations behind hypogamous unions. Additionally, studies suggest that highly educated women in hypogamous relationships may face unique emotional challenges. Changes in societal attitudes, spurred by movements for gender equality and increased access to education, have influenced contemporary views on marriage and partner selection. While the discussions surrounding hypogamy remain relevant, many of its traditional interpretations are now seen as less applicable in today's context.
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Hypogamy
A marriage of an individual to another individual in a lower social stratum, class, or education level is designated hypogamy. Sociologist Robert Merton’s 1941 article entitled “Intermarriage and the Social Structure,” published in Psychiatry, described interracial marriage involving a Black husband and a White wife as—given the racial hierarchy in the United States at the time—hypogamous. Because marriages have traditionally consisted of persons within a given group (endogamy), marriage outside a given group (exogamy) called for a theoretical explanation in the late twentieth century.
Hypogamy contradicts the traditional cross-cultural patterns of homogamy (marriage consisting of persons who share similarities) and its frequent alternative, hypergamy (marriage of women upward). Anthropologists of the late twentieth century argued that hypergamy is culturally universal because men have typically been the breadwinners, and women sought as much prestige and financial support for themselves and their children as possible. In general, occupation has been the route to upward social mobility for men. In a sexist society that deters women from entering many occupations, hypergamy is an avenue to higher status.
Merton hypothesized that hypogamy occurs because White women of lower economic backgrounds trade their higher racial rank for the relatively elevated economic station of a (racially) lower-ranked Black American man. Research has shown, however, that many biracial couples manifest educational and economic homogamy and marry for the same reasons that endogamous couples do. Some research indicates that highly educated women in hypogamous marriages may experience higher levels of depression than women in homogamous relationships. However, further research is needed across genders with controls for external influences.
The social changes that followed the feminist movement, urbanization, and the increase in educational opportunities for all individuals impacted the way Americans viewed marriage and the concept of hypogamy. While these views of marriage, interracial interactions, and class-based partner selection remain important in some contexts, much of the basis of the origins of hypogamy in twenty-first-century America is outdated.
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