AGE-HOMOGAMY AND AGE-HETEROGAMY IN THREE GENERATIONS OF HETEROSEXUAL WOMEN AND MEN IN MEXICO

Abstract

Age-difference in couple relationships in Mexico and Latin America has been a field of study predominantly approached by demographers and sociodemog-raphers. In Western Europe and North America, the tendency is similar yet sociologists and anthropologists have contributed important knowledge to this discussion. The results of both groups of studies show that in most societies men marry and cohabitate with women younger than them and that in a rather small percentage women are older than men. The discussion on the reasons for which men prefer younger women or women prefer older men when marrying and cohabitating go from psychological to economic grounds. This study aims to contribute to the discussion on the reasons for which this pattern persists by study examining the narratives of 81 Mexican heterosexual men and women from three generations. This is done from a qualitative and sociological standpoint that approaches the age differences from the subjectivity and intimacy of the interviewees aiming to understand (i) the meanings of the age-gap and age discrepancy, (ii) the role of schooling and social class in the significance of the age-gap and age-discrepancy relationships, and (iii) the gender inequality in age-gap relationships. The data show that amid a vigorous and strong trend of unions between older men and younger women where great gender inequalities may persist, there are signs of cultural change that show the discomfort and stigma of such differences. This, rather than being a contradiction, reveals how schooling and social origin affect the resignification of the difference, and moreover, suggests that the power relations in the couple are more equitable.