“But it does appear to be a “thing” in some pockets in the South.
Around the world too.
“But it does appear to be a “thing” in some pockets in the South.
What is the age of consent in Vatican City?
“The age of consent was raised from 12 to 13 years old in 1996 but remained amongst the lowest in Europe – second only to the Vatican City, which still stands at 12. ”
Loretta Lynn married at 14 and I think Mooney was in his 30s.
Personally I find that thought rather creepy. But it does appear to be a "thing" in some pockets in the South. I had a former colleague who spent some time stationed in a remote area of Kentucky, and he says all of the very young women there were throwing themselves at much older men.That said, I have little doubt that Moore dated teens when he was in his thirties. - cornfedcowboy
He said the wedding of the season in that town was between the 18-year old star of the high-school basketball team and her 41-year old coach. My friend begged his then-employer for a transfer as he was 40, divorced, and had no desire to fend off hordes of teenagers.
IMHO it is a matter of perspective and culture. Time was, women were heavily discriminated against in the employment arena; opportunities for women were housewife, housewife, teacher, housewife - or nurse. And they had to struggle to get to where nursing was a profession for women. And time was, FTM, when men were farmers, or farmers, or . . .Both housewife and farmer were occupations which girls and boys, respectively, routinely learned by doing under the mentorship of their mothers and fathers. If as a girl growing up in relative isolation in some hamlet in the hills those seem to be the realistic prospects, "setting her cap for" a well-established - hence older - man might seem to be her main chance. No highfalutin edumacashun necessary - just know how to keep a household the way Mamma did/does, and look your best (and in any case you likely will never look much better), and go for it. Until opportunities opened up for women, and unions drove up teachers’ salaries . . .
In America men have not typically been a lot older than their brides because young men have had opportunities, and the ability to hold down a job made you marriageable. In the Old World, not so much. For example in Ireland, men didn’t become marriageable until they inherited their fathers’ farms - and presto, the women - of whatever age - wanted them then.. So when you finally did become able to support a family, the field was wide open, including younger women. But before then, you were functionally an adolescent boy - hence, “the fighting Irish.”
And as to the objection that a youngish teen wife would be immature, women generally were considered immature. At least, they were discriminated against employment wise as if they were. In living memory, women were not allowed to open accounts with stock brokers (let alone be stock brokers).