The statement that best expresses the main idea of paragraphs 2 and 3 is:
C. Anne Bonney rebelled against her father, then began dressing as a male in order to be with her pirate lover, while Mary began dressing as a man when she became a pirate.
This option captures the core events of both paragraphs: Anne Bonney's defiance of her father's wishes and subsequent choice to disguise herself for love, as well as Mary Read's lifelong disguise as a boy which began out of necessity and continued until she became a pirate.