Final answer:
The preferred cross-cousin bride for a male EGO in a society with two exogamous lineages is the mother's brother's daughter (MBD), not the mother's sister's daughter (MZD) as this would categorize her as a parallel cousin, which is equivalent to a sibling in bifurcate merging kinship systems.
Step-by-step explanation:
In societies with two exogamous lineages, the preferred cross-cousin bride for a male EGO would be his MZD (mother's sister's daughter). This is because according to the principles of bifurcate merging kinship systems, EGO's mother's sisters are called "mother" and his father's brothers are called "father." Therefore, EGO's parallel cousins (children of his father's brothers and mother's sisters) would be considered his siblings. In contrast, his cross cousins (children of his father's sisters and mother's brothers) would be potential marriage partners. The distinction is important as it helps to maintain the stability of kinship lines across generations by marrying within a certain kin group without being too closely related.
EGO's cross cousins, more specifically, would be the offspring of his parent's opposite-sex siblings, so his mother's brother's daughter (MBD) or father's sister's daughter (FZD). However, since 'MZD' refers to the mother's sister's daughter, this would actually mean that the preferred cross-cousin bride is listed incorrectly in the question choices and should actually be 'MBD' (mother's brother's daughter). Choice 'b. MZD (mother's sister's daughter)' is not the correct answer, since she would be considered a parallel cousin rather than a cross cousin.