Nicholas L. Syrett
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781469629537
- eISBN:
- 9781469629551
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469629537.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
While most Americans oppose child marriage internationally, few realize that it is still legal to marry below the age of eighteen in all states in the U.S. There are three reasons to oppose the ...
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While most Americans oppose child marriage internationally, few realize that it is still legal to marry below the age of eighteen in all states in the U.S. There are three reasons to oppose the practice: (1) because of the health risks for those who marry as minors; (2) because it plays into the gendered dominance of an older husband and younger wife that has characterized so much of marriage history; (3) and because allowing for minor marriage buys into the fantasy that marriage itself is really capable of “solving” the problems of teenage sex and pregnancy.Less
While most Americans oppose child marriage internationally, few realize that it is still legal to marry below the age of eighteen in all states in the U.S. There are three reasons to oppose the practice: (1) because of the health risks for those who marry as minors; (2) because it plays into the gendered dominance of an older husband and younger wife that has characterized so much of marriage history; (3) and because allowing for minor marriage buys into the fantasy that marriage itself is really capable of “solving” the problems of teenage sex and pregnancy.
