I'd really chalk it all up to modern Western culture where we coddle women(and men) until much later ages(or indefinitely). In bygone eras women were expected to be able to manage a household and raise children during their youthful years. They were taught to grow up fast and handle responsibility at a younger age. This is no longer the case.
Who knows, part of it could also have to do with the fact that people tend to live a lot longer now. Perhaps part of it is adaptation. Getting your shit together ASAP and having a family was pretty important when you didn't live much past your 40's - now people live into their 70's on average. We've effectively doubled our expected lifespan over the past 100 years. That's a huge biological change in a very short amount of time.
http://demog.berkeley.edu/~andrew/1918/figure2.html
That is bound to cause social and cultural shifts - not to mention there have been major advancements in recent years in the realm of curing old age and increasing lifespans indefinitely. I know this is getting a tad off topic but food for thought.
It's always generally been understood that within their respective roles - women mature at an earlier age than men, which makes sense. This can be seen most obviously when looking at males and females in early developmental years. Puberty also typically starts earlier and ends earlier in girls.
Who knows, part of it could also have to do with the fact that people tend to live a lot longer now. Perhaps part of it is adaptation. Getting your shit together ASAP and having a family was pretty important when you didn't live much past your 40's - now people live into their 70's on average. We've effectively doubled our expected lifespan over the past 100 years. That's a huge biological change in a very short amount of time.
http://demog.berkeley.edu/~andrew/1918/figure2.html
That is bound to cause social and cultural shifts - not to mention there have been major advancements in recent years in the realm of curing old age and increasing lifespans indefinitely. I know this is getting a tad off topic but food for thought.
It's always generally been understood that within their respective roles - women mature at an earlier age than men, which makes sense. This can be seen most obviously when looking at males and females in early developmental years. Puberty also typically starts earlier and ends earlier in girls.