Thread

1. djvu97 · 1790823822 · focus · HN ↗

   It was legal in the first place?

   1. nine_k · 1790832395 · focus · HN ↗

      What they mean is the ability to marry at 16. It's not exactly a small child age, it's teen age.

      I suspect that this norm lingers from times of stricter social norms and before the pill, when a marriage would be a way to avoid a scandal when the prospective bride were pregnant.

      1. em-bee · 1790835289 · focus · HN ↗

         i don't think it had anything to do with lack of birthcontrol or fear of scandals, but rather with the religious definition of a marriageable age. there is also is also the biological definition which would make you marriageable as soon as you are able to conceive. but it is worth noting that apparently in the 19th century girls average age for puberty was 15 and for boys it was 17.

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.