Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.
June 1st is TOMORROW. It means that GAY PEOPLE will exist, but only for ONE MONTH. Do not forget to buy your tickets to see them NOW, or else you will have to wait AN ENTIRE YEAR to be able to meet them AGAIN.
The idea that 16 was a common marriage age (Fantasy/Historical Fiction)
You see, kids, in Ye Olde times, the common marriage age for women was 16 (or younger) and so in my MADE UP FANTASY NOVEL I'm going to FORCE my female character to marry at 16.
I've been tracking down where this idea came from and the truth behind it as a side quest because:
Incels are disgusting
Epstien files
even "Liberal" organizations like Planned Parenthood will not back off of child marriage and that's still a WTF.
Pedos are disgusting
I find the whole pervy, let's make them 16 and experience motherhood then in fantasy something I want to stab hard.
SERIOUSLY, THE US IS FUCKED UP IN THIS CASE.
For a disclosure, I'm in favor of the Regency age of *drumroll please* Yes, 19-20. Or at least dudes, 18 and the adjustment by AGE of participants as well, to make sure of no grooming and absolute consent.
Where did this idea come from?
I actually covered this briefly in my Adoption and Foster Care History I video, but, there's this idea in Tudor Times (that's Early Modern period for the History nerds) babies could get married and it was condoned by the church. I went and I bought the book that said that this was not the case.
What happened was often parents would get into debt and promise their babies to a person, but this is key: Neither the law nor the church would support this practice and it was seen as wholly against all moral codes to do so. Somehow, a lot of people think that what royalty did was common practice among the regular folk. NOPE.
And while Royal marriages I've found worldwide did have children promised to each other, often there was a special ceremony for the consummation while the wedding consummation was "fakes" (look they touched each other's legs! It's consummated in the eyes of God) (Hey, but the king used a proxy... He's out hunting!) (Doesn't matter! So married.)
There are cases of royals having children young as 13, but this was generally frowned upon even in Tudor times, with notes about how weak it left the mother and child. Margaret Beaufort was BEFORE Tudor times and even then it was heavily remarked upon as unorthodox. As in, it was quietly frowned upon with the royals. Younger than 16 was considered immature.
So I think the idea actually came from looking at Romeo and Juliet and people thinking that was NORMAL. It was NOT. The whole point was to make their ages abnormal to highlight the innocence of love. And also, some scholars say that Shakespeare was working out some of his trauma with his wife... but that's neither here nor there. The average age was around 24-27 among the common folk and then for Regency period the earliest was about 22-23 for women and 27-30 for men. The courtship was expected to last 2-3 YEARS unlike many Austenesque adaptations, it was not a quick trip to marriage.
In Regency England, the legal age for marriage and the reasons for marriage varied, reflecting the social and legal customs of the time. Leg
If a young lady or gentleman wanted to get married in Regency England while they were a minor, that is before they came ‘of age’, they neede
Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance, wrote Jane Austen in her 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. Roy and Lesley Adkins share t
Tudor times: 24- 27
There are things that we take for granted because we've always had them. For instance: Plumbing, running water, cars, the internet, smartpho
Yes, women got younger and younger over time... ?.? Should this be a thing?
The problem with Fantasy
Yadda yadda, I can do what I want, it's a Other world fantasy. Yadda Yadda, I don't have to follow history.
The main characters are human?
Yes.
The female character is 16 in Earth Years?
Yes.
The female character is getting married before their frontal cortex has had time to develop?
Yes.
It just leaves me feeling cold and like it's a bit skeevy. Historically they didn't do it or allow it, and why are you supporting child marriage. It feels creepy as hell.
And the fact incels go to Ye Olden times and think that the age was 14 and 13 based off of Shakespeare is a squint for me. It shows they don't know how to read older texts.
Why did you choose 16 of all ages anyway when it doesn't have historical support? It's creepy. It's often filled with feelings of grooming...
And also, the US is creepy as hell to allow a 13 year old to get married. Especially, and most especially places like Planned Parenthood which makes stupid reasons for why it should be allowed.
Some advocates want California to prohibit marriage for people under age 18. But groups including the ACLU and Planned Parenthood have oppos
It's a fantasy world, you can change it.
Also, I still think the marriage age should be more reasonable, like 18 or 20. One law of China I do like is the 20 years old for marriage, because at least they have some college under their belt.