Reply To: Sweet 16

I suspect it had to do with the age of consent (the age at which a woman is allowed to marry, and to consent to intimate relations). Among Jews, that age is 12 (for girls) and we often make a fuss about it – even that under Dina Malchusa Dina we do hold that way, de facto. The fact that in most states the age in now 18 (younger girls have to get permission, often from a judge) is irrelevant.