Basu Alaka Malwade, Kumar Sneha
Cornell University.
University of Texas at Austin.
Popul Stud (Camb). 2022 Nov;76(3):515-534. doi: 10.1080/00324728.2022.2080858. Epub 2022 Jun 20.
Rising numbers of young unmarried men in India reflect a marriage squeeze that goes beyond the shortage of brides created by sex-selective abortion. We describe a decline in men's marriageability caused by their falling economic prospects at the same time as families of brides are increasingly seeking grooms with stable employment. We group young men into those without jobs or much education, those with education but no work, and the privileged few with education as well as employment. This classification resolves some of the seeming contradictions in the qualitative literature on marriage in India. Some of this literature talks about the rising prevalence of bride price and some about the persistence of dowry, while some papers reflect in general on the costs of being young, male, and aimless. Our commentary includes a review of the growing literature on the physiological and (perhaps) consequently behavioural and health outcomes of men's anomie.
印度未婚年轻男性数量的增加反映出一种婚姻挤压现象，这种现象不仅仅是由性别选择性堕胎导致的新娘短缺造成的。我们描述了男性结婚能力的下降，这是由于他们经济前景的下滑，与此同时，新娘家庭越来越倾向于寻找有稳定工作的新郎。我们将年轻男性分为三类：没有工作或受教育程度低的；有教育背景但没有工作的；以及少数既受过教育又有工作的特权阶层。这种分类解决了印度婚姻定性文献中一些看似矛盾的问题。这类文献中有些讨论了彩礼盛行率的上升，有些讨论了嫁妆的持续存在，而有些论文则总体上反映了年轻、男性且无所事事的代价。我们的评论包括对关于男性社会失范的生理以及（或许）由此产生的行为和健康结果的不断增多的文献的综述。
