Hypergamy (colloquially referred to as "marrying up") is the act or practice of seeking a spouse of higher looks, socioeconomic, caste or status than oneself.
The term is often used more specifically in reference to a perceived
tendency among human cultures for females to seek or be encouraged to
pursue male suitors that are higher status than themselves, which often manifests itself as being attracted to men who are comparatively older, wealthier or otherwise more privileged than themselves.
According to evolutionary psychologists,
females have evolved a preference for higher status males because they
offer their prospective children both "better" genes and greater
resources, e.g. food and security. Men, who invest less in their
children, have less reason to prefer mates with high social status. Some
have even argued that men "marry-down" to ensure that their mates have a
higher incentive to remain faithful.[3]
The word "hypogamy" typically refers to instances of the inverse occurring: marrying a person of lower social class or status
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