What would you do if you saw a baby with a cheek piercing? After all, it’s not something that you see every day. Do you think it’s up to the parent to make that decision, or do you think it should be illegal for somebody to alter their child’s appearance that drastically when they are just an infant?

Unsurprisingly, when a picture of a child with a cheek piercing was recently shared on social media, a lot of people had a problem with it. And it’s not hard to understand why.

This was the caption that accompanied the photo:

“So I got the baby girl’s dimple pierced!!

“It looks cute, right?!! I just know she’s gonna love it!! She’ll thank me when she’s older lol. If she decides she doesn’t like it, she can just take it out, no big deal. I’m the parent, she is MY CHILD, I will do whatever I want!! I make all of her decisions until I’m 18, I made her, I own her!! I don’t need anyone’s permission, I think it’s better, cuter, & I prefer to have her dimple pierced. Its NOT abuse!! If it was, it would be illegal, but it’s not. People pierce their babies every day, this is no different.”

Most of the commenters thought that it was horrible that a mother had decided to pierce her infant daughter’s cheek.

Several people were outraged that this had even happened.

But the thing is, it didn’t actually happen.

Enedina Vance, the woman who posted the photo of her daughter, had photoshopped the original picture. She had not really pierced her daughter’s cheek. Instead, she was trying to make a point about infant ear piercings and male circumcision.

Her point was that both ear piercing and circumcision are taking away a child’s right to make decisions about their own body.

These are permanent alterations that people make to their children’s bodies, and it’s really not something that they can just undo when they are older.

The 35-year-old mother told CNN:

“The reaction that parents have when they see this beautiful perfect baby being… mutilated, that initial shock, that reaction of anger, I want them to hold on to that.”

Even though she tagged the photo with #sarcasm, a lot of people didn’t realize that this was satire.

But her message got its point across even just through shock alone. People couldn’t believe that a mother would do this to her daughter, and she wanted to see how far that line of reasoning could go for people.

Although she successfully made her point to a lot of people, others were more lost. Some threatened her or said that they were going to call Child Protective Services. She was shocked that they weren’t able to tell that this wasn’t a serious post. Others simply disagreed with her stance on circumcision and piercing and said that they would continue these practices regardless of what she or anyone else thought.

What are your opinions on these issues?

Would you get your child circumcised or get his or her ears pierced? When you think about it, Enedina really does have a point. Don’t we want our children to get some say over what they do with their bodies? Is there a lesson to be learned from Vance, or should parents be able to do whatever they want to with their infants without permission?

Article Sources:

Little Things

CNN

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By Cedric Jackson

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Cedric Jackson is a contributor at SBLY Media.