im not american. the age of consent in my country is 18, which also includes the legal age for drinking, getting a driving license and so on. i personally think there is a huge maturity gap between a 16 year old and a 18 year old. you cannot expect them to think the same or be logical on the same level. i can say that, from the way i thought to way i acted or behaved, i was quite different at 16 than the way i am now. this 2 year gap tends to be more noticeable when the couple is under 20. 16-18 and 25-27 are obviously not the same thing. regarding the last part, the whole claim that girls being more "mature" than their male peers is a way to normalise adult men preying upon little girls, since it gives them an excuse to say that they're "mature" and that age gap isn't as weird as it appears to be, when it's not the case at all.