Exogamy is the social norm of marrying or mating outside one's own social group, with the group itself defining the scope of the rule and the mechanisms that enforce it. Anthropologists distinguish biological exogamy, governed by incest taboos against marrying close relatives, from cultural exogamy, which bars marriage within a defined social or kin group regardless of biological relation.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Held Differently
Structural opposites: endogamy requires marrying within a defined group, exogamy requires marrying outside it; many societies apply both rules at different levels at once.
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