All babies? O_o
While I agree that yeah, those huge Elizabeth Duke-type hoops can be quite tacky on tiny ears, what about piercings for religious/cultural reasons? Where I come from, (South Asia), all gal-babes (and even certain types of boy-babes) have their ears needle-pierced at 31 days - half cultural, partly a convienience thing, as it hurts the flesh and cartilage much less when young..exceptions, there, surely?
(ifonly, Sat 29 May 2010, 18:11, 3 replies)

I'm
not sure if they make exceptions for cultural reasons, I think its likely that they would. I'm guessing they're just against the whole piercing babies for vanity reasons.
(FootOfTim, Sat 29 May 2010, 19:44, closed)

No.
Mutilation of a child is mutilation of a child, no matter how you wrap it up in this PC crazy world. I think it should be the choice of the person who is being stabbed whether they want to be stabbed or not. You can't make any choices as a baby.

Saying something is OK because lots of people do it is about as stupid as it gets.
(robbersdog, Sun 30 May 2010, 9:43, closed)

I agree, the entire world should adopt and adhere to Western cultural values.

( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Sun 30 May 2010, 14:22, closed)

But I wasn't saying that..
Mutilation? Bit harsh, it's not like they're hammering huge holes or nails into them or anything... they are just small earrings, holes made with a fine needle, put in at a early age. If the child grows up and decides they don't want 'em? It's simple; they take them out, the hole closes over. Simple as.
Think of it this way; the child's most likely going to ask to have its ears pierced at twelve/fourteen/whenever anyway, what's wrong with getting it done earlier, when it's a lot less painful? How many teenage girls do you know that have never wanted their ears pierced? I'm told I slept right through mine the first time - had my second pair of piercings done recently, and screamed like a pig..
I honestly wasn't trying to be PC or say that everyone should follow it, I wasn't; just trying to point out that different cultures have different values, and sometimes there are exceptions to the whole vanity/selfishness reasons..
(ifonly, Mon 31 May 2010, 10:01, closed)

Ah, Religion.
I'm sure it has some random fucked up reason for changing a childs natural appearance before they can even hold up their own head. But if it must be done, at least it's done with a needle, it hurts a lot less and is so much safer.
(MissUnexpectedNuttering Mad to live, Mad to talk, and burn, burn, burn...., Sun 30 May 2010, 20:51, closed)

Oh no- it's not always necessarily religious; a lot of cases it's more a cultural/social/let's get it done early type thing.. Like drinking ages across the word- ish.
(It doesn't change the natural appearance that much, surely? They're only earrings, and it's much more of a normal boring thing over there than here, where they've only recently become mainstream and widely worn, so what's considered a natural form for a hild there might be quite different)
(ifonly, Mon 31 May 2010, 10:07, closed)