30 yr old man marries a 13 yr old girl- then and now

[TxRedMan]

It's hard to ask this question w/o the societal taboo of people thinking you're some version of a pedophile.

It's also hard to answer this question because other than womens suffrage and the onset of industrialism and the changes in culture it brought, there's no distinct period of time where this stopped.

In the grand scheme of things, 150 years is nothing. And, 150 years ago it was common for a man as old as 30 yrs. to wed a woman (girl) as young as 13, sometimes 12, depending on their personal level of maturity.

I'm sure others will elaborate thoroughly, but I find this peculiar.

But, is it peculiar that a man would be thrown in jail (save for the sporadic morman/polygamist comunity in the middle of nowhere) for being with a girl that much younger than him in our day and age, or was it peculiar that this was such a common thing as little as 150 years ago?


It really is a drastic change in the way society views such a thing.


Discuss.

[traz]

150 years ago, slavery was still legal

[fish2plus2]

Was it really normal back then for him to be 30 yrs old? Wouldnt he have to be like 16-18 or something. I understand that they got married young back then, and that divorces werent as common.

[TxRedMan]

yes, it was common.

granted, not as common as say, a 25 yr. old man w/ a 15 yr. old woman, but it still happened.


marriages were often arranged, and in a lot of families when a girl was able to get pregnant/menstruate, she was considered able to marry.

[Scary_Tiger]

Just give it up Tx, no marrying a 12 year old for you.

[kutuz_off]

As I understand, in many muslim countries, 30+13 is not out of the ordinary to this day.

[Innocent Kitty]

[Prodigy54321]

not so peculiar to me..I see nothing inherently wrong with a 30 yo man marrying (having a sexual relationship) with a 17 yo girl...16? 15? 14? 13? younger???

I see nothing wrong with any of them..

I see something wrong with the girl being put in that situation against her will..

I also see a problem with the girl being allowed to put herself in that situation when she is not be mature enough to make what we would consider that to be a rational decision..this, however, is very tricky..something that a hard age line could not prefectly regulate...

but I think that a hard age line IS the best option for a current society..I would probably put it lower than 18

general views in the US have changed dramatically in the past couple centuries..maybe for the better

[TheMainEvent]

[ QUOTE ]

marriages were often arranged, and in a lot of families when a girl was able to get pregnant/menstruate, she was considered able to marry.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is the key point. The purpose of age of consent laws is to protect minors who aren't old enough to make decisions. If the parents are the ones making the decisions anyway, why wait?

[esad]

[ QUOTE ]
But, is it peculiar that a man would be thrown in jail (save for the sporadic morman/polygamist comunity in the middle of nowhere)

[/ QUOTE ]

You need to get out more.