Quote:
Originally Posted by AGDee
Getting married at 16 or so wasn't unheard a couple of generations ago. My Italian grandmother was 16 when she married my grandfather who was 25 at the time. These days, that sounds horrible. They were married for 52 years before she passed away. In this day and age, it definitely sounds squicky, especially to a 51 year old. (although truly, that man does NOT look 51). But yeah, the whole thing seems squicky to me. When I look at my 17 y/o daughter, I can't even imagine... <shudder>
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Exactly.
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When child marriage and child labor are discussed, people (not AGDee) bring up what happened generations ago. A lot of things happened generations ago. The question then becomes did we needlessly change our image of children (from just short adults to tiny tots who aren't mentally and physically equipped to do this stuff) or were and are we acknowledging the true differences between children and adults. Moreover, is a 16 yo capable of marriage as long as it is legal wherever she/he is and consensual? That's a moral question (regardless of what it's based on) if it isn't a legal question.
Maybe they were just darn good workers supporting their families. No.
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