My grandmothers were married in their early teens. My grandfathers were also only teenagers--only a couple of years older. It was basically child-marriage, which was the norm back then. My paternal grandmother delivered her first child when she was only 15!
Now, child marriages are illegal, thankfully. Girls aren't condemned to be barefoot and pregnant, and they can grow up to become rocket scientists too.
But, the new social and legal structure for marriage does not mean that the reproductive biology has changed. The hormones begin to kick in, and boys and girls are fully ready to have sex in their teens. In fact, puberty appears to have been fast-forwarded:
Puberty generally begins between eight and 13 years in girls and nine and 14 years for boys. However, a number of global studies suggest the average age of puberty is falling.
The hormones are kicking and screaming, and porn is all around. In traditional and conservative societies like India's, this can be a recipe for challenging times for boys and girls alike.
Living with parents tightly circumscribes the sexual lives of teenagers in most countries, including the US. I have always jokingly hypothesized that this sexual urge is the biggest reason that American teenagers seek their independence after they turn 18 years old. However, COVID-19 forced many of them to return to their parents' homes. Even if they were out of the nests, quarantine and social distancing made sexual relations rather challenging, if not impossible.
Now, we have the vaccines, and young people here in America are eager to have sex. However, more sex will not mean more kids; the fertility rate has been falling. Within a decade or two, we will find out if this is good or bad news.
The contemporary world is a different planet compared to my grandmothers' teenage years.
No comments:
Post a Comment