lkwdfellow, that has just been my experience. I recognize that I don’t know a majority of the yeshivish community so in that aspect I could be wrong.
AZOI.IS, you write “NONSENSE!!!!” a lot without backing it up at all. In fact, you assume that the younger women dating are dating because their friends are. Most of the people I know who started dating younger because they wanted to, not because their friends were.
You ask what the grave harm in marrying a little later is? The harm is that she wants to get married and is being delayed for someone else. That isn’t fair to her. Its not up to you to decide when she should get married, but you are trying to control her life for someone elses. Sounds a lot like Animal Farm to me….
A lot of gedolim are behind the takanas against big weddings – but of course there are exceptions (large families and a whole bunch of other things). It will force the shidduch scene to become even more elitist because the “best” girls will still get dates young. And what Rav is going to come out and say that we should delay women getting married?
I never said the pain for a woman who hasn’t found her match isn’t great. I know quite a few older, single women. But, that doesn’t mean you should call them an agunah. Or an almanah or any other term that has HALACHIC ramifications. Lehavdil, its like calling a Church/mosque a shul because its a “house of worship.” (mods if you think this line is inappropriate, please just delete from Lehavdil on)
Can an Agunah marry someone if she wants? NO
Can a single woman marry someone if she wants? YES, if she meets someone to marry. That is a HUGE difference and pretending otherwise is not going to get you anywhere.