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Hypergamy (colloquially referred to as " dating up" or " marrying up") is a term used in social science for the act or practice of a person dating or marrying a spouse of higher mating value than themselves.
The antonym " hypogamy" refers to the inverse: marriage a person of lower mating value (colloquially " marrying down").
The term hypogyny can also be used to describe the overall practice of women marrying up, since the men would be marrying down.
Concepts such as hypergamy, hypogamy, and hypergyny could be considered as special cases of mésalliance.
Quantitative data from various dating platforms suggests a significant skew in how attractiveness is appraised. Data released by OKCupid indicated that while men tended to rate women on a traditional normal distribution (bell curve) of attractiveness, women rated approximately 80% of men as "below average" in physical appeal.Rudder, Christian (2014). Dataclysm: Who We Are (When We Think No One's Looking). Crown. ISBN 978-0385347372.
Research into the intersection of race and physical attractiveness in online dating often highlights the persistence of specific demographic preferences. Studies published in journals such as Psychological Science and various sociological reviews have noted that in Western dating markets, White people often receive a disproportionate amount of interest and higher attractiveness scores compared to other ethnic groups.Lin, K. H.; Lundquist, J. S. (2013). "Mate Selection in Cyberspace: The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Education". American Journal of Sociology. 119 (1): 183–215. Sociologists argue that these preferences are influenced by "sexual racism" or "Erotic capital," where Eurocentrism beauty standards elevate the perceived desirability of certain groups.Feliciano, C.; Robnett, B.; Komaie, G. (2009). "Gendered Racial Exclusion among White Internet Daters". Social Forces. 87 (3): 1539–1564. Data-driven analyses suggest that most attractive white men often occupy the "top tier" of the digital dating hierarchy, receiving the highest volume of positive signals from a broad spectrum of female users, which researchers interpret as a convergence of hypergamy and existing Social hierarchy.
The observed gender cliff in the distribution of women's share to the household income at 50% can be explained by income hypergamy preferences by both men and women, together with gender pay gap.
One study found that women are more selective in their choice of marriage partners than are men.
A study done by the University of Minnesota in 2017 found that females generally prefer dominant males as mates. Research conducted throughout the world strongly supports the position that women prefer marriage with partners who are culturally successful or have high potential to become culturally successful. The most extensive of these studies included 10,000 people in 37 cultures across six continents and five islands. Women rated "good financial prospect" higher than men did in all cultures. In 29 samples, the "ambition and industriousness" of a prospective mate were more important for women than for men. Meta-analysis of research published from 1965 to 1986 revealed the same sex difference (Feingold, 1992).
A 2012 analysis of a survey of 8,953 people in 37 countries, which found that the more gender-equal a country, the likelier male and female respondents were to report seeking the same qualities in each other rather than different ones.
An empirical study examined the mate preferences of subscribers to an online dating service in Israel that had a highly skewed sex ratio (646 men for 1,000 women). Despite this skewed sex ratio, they found that "On education and socioeconomic status, women on average express greater hypergamic selectivity; they prefer mates who are superior to them in these traits... while men express a desire for an analogue of hypergamy based on physical attractiveness; they desire a mate who ranks higher on the physical attractiveness scale than they themselves do."
One study did not find a statistical difference in the number of women or men "marrying-up" in a sample of 1,109 first-time married couples in the United States.
The early Christian Church, through voices such as St. Basil the Great, sought to limit the effects of hypergamous customs, notably the large age gap that may have resulted from hypergamous mate selection. This guideline was not a part of church canon but some orthodox or Coptic churches recommend respective gaps of around 4-8 years or 1-15 years, with narrower age gaps recommended for younger couples.
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