Marriage Preferences of Online Daters in Shanghai: Why Does Education Matter？

• In Event: 1448 - Race, Gender, and Class Variations in Union Formation

Abstract

Despites the extensive literature on the trends and variation in educational assortative mating, little is known about the intricate ways in which education matters when men and women navigate marriage markets. Drawing on in-depth interviews with sixteen female online daters and thirteen male online daters in Shanghai, this study advances understanding of how horizontal hierarchy among higher education influences mate selection in online dating and beyond. First, the prestige of the university where individuals received their bachelor’s degree serves as a primary screening factor in online dating. We thus develop a concept of “educational status” to capture how educational attainment and university prestige together serve as a marker of social status. Educational status shapes individuals’ identities, online dating choices and marriage prospects. Second, despites some similarities, the distinctions between men and women for why they hold certain preferences for potential spouses’ educational status speak to the deep-seated traditional gender roles in Chinese elite households. The seemingly personal preferences among online daters are shaped by cultural and institutional norms. The findings suggest that online dating likely increases the educational-status-based pairings and thus enhances social closure.

Authors

• Siqi Xiao

• Yue Qian, University of British Columbia