Commentary for Avodah Zarah 73:1
הואיל וראוי לביאה מטמא נמי בזיבה אמר רבינא הלכך הא תינוקת עובדת כוכבים בת ג' שנים ויום אחד הואיל וראויה לביאה מטמאה נמי בזיבה
since he is then capable of having sex he likewise defiles by genital discharge. Ravina said: Therefore a non-Jewish girl [defiles] from the age of three years and one day, since she is then capable of the sexual act she likewise defiles by genital discharge.
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
Ravina analogizes from the boy to the girl. According to the rabbis, a girl is capable of sex at the age of three [again, this does not mean they advocated such a thing. Just that it is physically possible. I know that this is not a pleasant thing to hear. But it is what the text is referring to]. The girl defiles as if she had genital discharge at the age at which she could potentially have sex.
The Talmud perceives this to be obvious. Of course, the rules are the same. After all, if she can have sex, then she could be defiled by the male seminal discharge, and this is possible at the age of three.
They answer with what seems a bit of a strange answer. A boy at the age of 9 is not only physically capable of having sex, he can convince a girl to have sex with him (not the boys I know). Whereas a girl at the age of three does not even know what sex is. She could not and would not persuade others to have sex. She might be able to have sex, but she certainly cannot initiate it. Therefore I might not have taught this analogy, and thus Ravina needed to assert it.
The Talmud perceives this to be obvious. Of course, the rules are the same. After all, if she can have sex, then she could be defiled by the male seminal discharge, and this is possible at the age of three.
They answer with what seems a bit of a strange answer. A boy at the age of 9 is not only physically capable of having sex, he can convince a girl to have sex with him (not the boys I know). Whereas a girl at the age of three does not even know what sex is. She could not and would not persuade others to have sex. She might be able to have sex, but she certainly cannot initiate it. Therefore I might not have taught this analogy, and thus Ravina needed to assert it.
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