re: The disingenuous double standard of people marrying too young. What’s your take?

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Why did so many marriages from 100 years ago survive, when, on average, the newlyweds were much younger than today?

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Let me tell you about my great-grandparents. They were married about 100 years ago and I have pictures of them from their wedding day. They were both 19 and quite good-looking. He was 6'4" and squared-jawed, looked basically like Christopher Reeve. She was 5'6" (tall for the time) and they each liked what they saw.

Their first child was born premature. Or so that is what I was told. According to the birth record in family Bible he was a perfectly normal weight for a baby carried to term.

Again, relying on family stories, within 2-3 years they were basically at each other's throats. They were both lookers and had no trouble finding someone else to screw after a fight. But social norms and the law being what they were back then, divorce was very hard once kids were in the picture.

Eventually they hit their fifties, weren't so good-looking anymore and finally got serious about staying together simply because it was the default option. It finally ended when he died after their 55th year of marriage.

But I can assure you they found their happiness in how their grandkids were doing, not in their own lives.

I've never heard a couple say we got married to late.

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I’d much rather do mid-20s activities when I’m in my mid-20s than vice versa.

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It works both ways. I couldn't imagine struggling to raise a newborn in my 30s-40s.

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This is why you need to know history. 100 years ago, women were damn near totally dependent on men.

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Not only that, but 16 year olds were more mature than 21 year olds today. The age of independence has increased dramatically.