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SOURCES:

1. Evolutionary Psychology (Biological/Evolutionary Model)

Defines hypergamy as a female mating preference for partners of higher status, resources, or genetic quality, shaped by evolutionary pressures.

Key Sources:

• David M. Buss (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures.

  A landmark cross-cultural study showing women consistently prioritize status and resource acquisition in mates.

• Buss, D. M. (2015). Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind.

  Comprehensive textbook with a section on hypergamous preferences as reproductive strategies.

• Geoffrey Miller (2000). The Mating Mind.

  Explores how mate choice—including hypergamy—shapes intelligence and creativity evolutionarily.

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2. Anthropology & Sociology (Social Structural Model)

Explores hypergamy as a socially constructed pattern related to marriage systems, gender roles, and power dynamics—often reinforced by tradition or patriarchy.

Key Sources:

• Claude Lévi-Strauss (1949). The Elementary Structures of Kinship.

  Discusses bride exchange and status hierarchy in kinship systems; early use of hypergamy in marriage structures.

• Sylvia Yanagisako & Jane Collier (1987). Gender and Kinship: Essays Toward a Unified Analysis.

  Frames hypergamy as a tool of gendered social reproduction within patriarchal systems.

• Pierre Bourdieu (1998). Practical Reason: On the Theory of Action.

  Describes how cultural capital and marriage reproduce class inequality—relevant to hypergamy.

 

*Text version of the above synthetic definition:

Definition of Hypergamy (Evolutionary + Social Structural Synthesis):

Hypergamy is the tendency—especially among women—to seek romantic or marital partners of higher status, resources, or social rank, driven by a combination of evolved mate preferences and culturally reinforced social structures.