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Marriage Age?

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FuckmouthedRube

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The realtor who disappeared in Arkansas is a tragedy, but one part of the story startled me. She's 49, has 4 grand children, and has been married for 35 years. I get it's Arkansas, but 14 year olds are allowed to marry?!? Papa Duck Dynasty advocates marrying young, but 14 seems absurd.
 
I think the legal marriage age is 18 in just about every state, with 16 being OK for girls with consent and 17 for boys with consent. This woman may have gotten married at 14 before those laws were on the books.
 
Apparently you can get married at age 12 in Mass as a female, 14 as a male.

Link
 
I've had this discussion recently with a coworker about how the greatest generation got married hella young, and usually with downright criminal age differences.
 
It was a different time back then, obviously, at least as far as the greatest generation goes. It was not that different a time in 78-79 when this gal got married. 14 is very young to get married unless it's the middle ages or you're a Mormon settler in the 1800s.

My parents were 19 (barely) and 17 (a month or 2 from 18) when they married and had been dating for a few years. That was in 1960 and people were still skeptical at the time that it would last.
 
EatLeadCommie said:
It was a different time back then, obviously, at least as far as the greatest generation goes. It was not that different a time in 78-79 when this gal got married. 14 is very young to get married unless it's the middle ages or you're a Mormon settler in the 1800s.

My parents were 19 (barely) and 17 (a month or 2 from 18) when they married and had been dating for a few years. That was in 1960 and people were still skeptical at the time that it would last.
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May not be fair to criticize, but I really hate this excuse on everything. I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure that the physical, emotional, and social development of teenage girls was not that much different 100 years ago than it is today.
 
Deacfreak07 said:
May not be fair to criticize, but I really hate this excuse on everything. I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure that the physical, emotional, and social development of teenage girls was not that much different 100 years ago than it is today.
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I bet it was. Girls hit puberty earlier now, but they had more responsibilities and were pushed to be adults earlier then.

I'll wait for Ph to tell us which one is right.
 
bym051d said:
I bet it was. Girls hit puberty earlier now, but they had more responsibilities and were pushed to be adults earlier then.

I'll wait for Ph to tell us which one is right.
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Given that women were not allowed to vote until the 1920s, I'm confident that their social and emotional health were not real priorities with marriage customs.
 
TownieDeac said:
Apparently you can get married at age 12 in Mass as a female, 14 as a male.

Link
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I'm assuming that parental consent usually revolves around pregnancy. A 12 year old is in 6h or 7th grade. Can't imagine any state would want kids shagging or getting married at that age.
 
bym051d is right, not to mention that severe lack of women's and children's rights and educational opportunities that hurt their options.

Of course, that doesn't mean a 20-something man marrying a 14-15 girl in the 1930s was any less child abuse than it would be today.
 
Deacfreak07 said:
May not be fair to criticize, but I really hate this excuse on everything. I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure that the physical, emotional, and social development of teenage girls was not that much different 100 years ago than it is today.
Click to expand...

Well I think 14 is too damn young to marry, and said as much. But I would argue that emotional and social development is relative to one's life experiences. A hundred years ago, one's "lot in life" was a bit different growing up on a farm than it was living in a big city.
 
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