What's your point? Does the fact that certain behaviors were once considered acceptable mean that they should remain that way?
Two hundred years ago Americans considered slavery a "peculiar institution" and some of the greatest minds ever compromised and said that slaves were "three-fifths" of a person. Fifty years ago, legislated racism was the norm in much of our country.
Three hundred years ago, Americans burned each other at the stake on suspicion of witchcraft.
A thousand years ago, human flesh was being sold as food throughout Europe.
100 years ago they grew up a lot faster (on the inside).
True. There were also very strong societal rules and expectations in place so that those teens behaved responsibly. Those teens might have been married, but they were living in the same small community as their parents, watched over by society and their religious communities while they emerged as young adults.
For those that went away to college, strict rules were in place. I'm NOT that old, and if I missed curfew, the dorm mom would have called my parents! Now, kids live in dorms where the sex going on there would make the Happy Hooker blush! We are friends with a kid whose roommate would have sex with his girlfriend while he was in the room if he wouldn't live. He couldn't even claim a bed to sleep in - unless he wanted to hear their sexcapades. School officials did nothing about this - "Work it out on your own."
A large part of the community expects today's teenagers to act like animals! agghhh
And if I drive by one more Aber & Fitch billboard with my kids, I just might possibly get so mad as to be a danger on the road. These billboards are more obscene than the "men's club" billboards, and they're aimed at - yep - teens.
"100 years ago Americans routinely married in their mid teens."
I understand what you are saying, that teenagers in my great grandfathers days were expected to be "matured" at an early age. But I believe this discussion is about the marketing of sexuality to kids. Its true that many of us mature sexually in our early teens, but having the capacity to reproduce ( and the enjoyment derived from all related activities) carries responsibility that marketing firms don't covey.
That said, I don't blame anyone in marketing or the fashion industry. Their job isn't raising children, they sell products. Parents raise children. It is a parent's responsibility to help teens understand repercussions of their actions. If a parent allows a 15 yerar old girl to leave the house in a miniskirt and a halter top, the parent is acting irresponsible. It isn't the fashion designers fault that mom caved in to daughter.
While it certainly happened, it wasn't the norm.
But I don't know what that has to do with dressing little girls up like streetwalkers.
"100 years ago Americans routinely married in their mid teens."
And 100 years ago, the average 16 year old had more sense than today's average 36 year old. There's something inherent in having to bust your tail from dawn to dusk every day just to avoid starvation that'll do that to you. Folks used to value being responsible for themselves; standing on their own two feet and providing for their own by the grace of God anf their own two hands.
It's a different world today; a whole different world.