Hypergamy

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Hypergamy ( ancient Greek hyper "over", and gamos "marriage, marriage") describes in ethnosociology "marrying up" into a higher social group , class , class or caste . Some groups or ( ethnic ) societies have marriage rules according to which a woman should, if possible, marry a man with a socio-economic status that is higher than her own. The wife's family also tries to gain a higher reputation through this. In modern societies, hypergamy describes a systematic difference between men and women in couple relationships, such as that the man is usually taller, older or higher in status.

Hypergame marriages are mostly found in societies that are organized according to their patriotic lines ( patrilinear ) . Marrying a woman with a lower status does not cause a loss of prestige here , since common children are assigned to the man's social group. This can also enjoy economic advantages if the woman brings in a higher dowry as compensation . In stratified societies , hypergamy occurs in order to circumvent endogamous regulations about marriage within the same group or stratum (as in the Indian caste system ). In aristocratic families , hypergame marriage was known as morganatic marriage (“marriage to the left”), as the marriage of a widower or of younger sons when the line of succession had already been clarified and therefore the lower status of the wife had no practical effect.

In hypogamy (from ancient Greek hypo "below, below"), on the other hand, the woman has a higher social status than the husband, although in some societies the children assume the lower status of the father. This way of marriage is found more often in societies that are organized according to their maternal lines ( matrilinear ) , in which the children retain the status of wives.

Hyper- and hypogamous marriage rules can also affect men and women differently, depending on the respective ancestry rules and the degree of stratification of society, as well as on the perception of certain social groups and strata, whether the husband's or wife's family is viewed as being of higher rank. Both rules are directed outwards on the one hand ( exogamous ), since the spouse is sought outside of one's own status group or class. On the other hand, they work together with inwardly directed rules ( endogamous ), for example the spouse should belong to their own tribe or people or the same local group. Hyper- and hypogamy are forms of anisogamous marriage (between “unequal”), which is fundamentally different from isogamy (marriage between “equal”).

See also

Web links

  • Helmut Lukas, Vera Schindler, Johann Stockinger: Anisogamy (hyper- / hypogamy). In: Online Interactive Glossary: ​​Marriage, Marriage, and Family. Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1997 (in-depth remarks on marriage rules, with references).;
  • Gabriele Rasuly-Paleczek: Hypergamy, Hypogamy. (PDF: 853 kB, 52 pages) In: Introduction to the forms of social organization (part 3/5). Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology, University of Vienna, 2011, pp. 101–102 , archived from the original on October 17, 2013 (documents from her lecture in the 2011 summer semester).;

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Gabriele Rasuly-Paleczek: Hypergamy, Hypogamy. (PDF: 853 kB, 52 pages) In: Introduction to the forms of social organization (part 3/5). Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology, University of Vienna, 2011, pp. 101–102 , archived from the original on October 17, 2013 ; accessed on April 16, 2019 : "Hypergamy is [...] a form of marriage in which a woman should or must marry a man of higher status. The woman marries "up here", so to speak. (cf. BARNARD / SPENCER 1997: p. 609; SEYMOUR-SMITH 1986: p.142; VIVELO 1981: p.238, and WINTHROP 1991: p.175) […] Hypergamy is mostly found in patrilineal society [en] . Furthermore, it is practiced in tightly hierarchical society (e.g. the Indian castes, which for their part are often stratified in themselves). (HIRSCHBERG 1988: p.226, VIVELO 1981: p.238 and PANOFF / PERRIN 1982: p.145 f) […] In contrast to hypergamy, where the husband belongs to a higher class than the wife, it is hypogamy A marriage relationship in which the wife belongs to a higher class or status group than the husband (cf. VIVELO 1981: p.235 f). Here the woman marries "downwards", so to speak, or vice versa, from the point of view of a man of lower status, hypogamy now marries the man up into the higher status group of his wife. (cf. BARNARD / SPENCER 1997: p. 609; WINTHROP 1991: p.175, HIRSCHBERG 1988: p.226; PANOFF / PERRIN 1982: p.146 and SEYMOURSMITH 1986: p.142 f) " .
  2. ↑ a b Lukas, Schindler, Stockinger: Hypergamie. In: Online Interactive Glossary: ​​Marriage, Marriage, and Family. Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1997, accessed on April 16, 2019 .
  3. ^ Günter Burkart : Family sociology. UVK, Konstanz 2008, ISBN 978-3-8252-3061-6 , pp. 175 and 332.
  4. ↑ Lukas, Schindler, Stockinger: Hypogamy. In: Online Interactive Glossary: ​​Marriage, Marriage, and Family. Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1997, accessed on April 16, 2019 .