# Do people really still pierce infants ears ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 21, 2011, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345 "2011-10-21T10:11:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/61 "2011-10-22T04:44:13Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > But how common is it for guy babies to have pierced ears? Also, don’t most guys have just one pierced ear instead of both? The guys I know always have both (or, less often, neither). But yeah, I never see baby boys with pierced ears. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/62 "2011-10-22T04:45:47Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > But how common is it for guy babies to have pierced ears? I’m expecting that anytime now. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/63 "2011-10-22T04:52:21Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Also, don’t most guys have just one pierced ear instead of both? No, in the 80’s there was a whole “Left is right, right is wrong” thing :rolleyes: that doesn’t apply today. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/64 "2011-10-22T04:52:26Z")
My ears were pierced when I was 12, on Easter Sunday. My grandma was taking my mother and I to have it done. My mother chickened out. I never had a problem with them. I made the same rule for our daughter: it seemed like 12 was a decent age. She hasn’t asked yet, and she turned 12 in June. She wanted a basketball more. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/65 "2011-10-22T05:54:44Z")
Personally, piercing a baby’s ears is akin to scribbling on artwork, or folding down the corner of a page in a book. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/66 "2011-10-22T12:20:09Z")
> [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](#): > > Personally, piercing a baby’s ears is akin to scribbling on artwork, or folding down the corner of a page in a book. Because we come out damaged? ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/67 "2011-10-22T12:53:34Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Because we come out damaged? No. Because it’s the unnecessary, performed by the unthinking. What interest does a baby have in jewellery? ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/68 "2011-10-22T13:00:46Z")
I saw a 9 month old girl at Wally\*World this week with stud earrings. At least mom was smart enough to not put in hoops or dangles. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/69 "2011-10-22T14:05:20Z")
WHoever said it doesn’t hurt is full of it, it’s not like clipping a finger nail! :dubious: No way would I pierce the soft, fuzzy, milky skin of my baby 😕 I waited until she bargained for permission to get it done at age 10. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/70 "2011-10-22T16:14:40Z")
It’s a traditional thing in my daughter’s father’s Mexican culture but he decided against it because he said he couldn’t imagine hurting her like that, no matter how briefly. I didn’t want to do it anyway because I think it’s ridiculous to decorate a baby like that. It’s one thing to put them in cute clothes but putting holes in them for decoration is completely unnecessary. His mama fussed when we sent her first birthday pictures. She said our daughter was going to suffer for it. What the hell does that even mean,\* suffer for it\*? I guess it’s the Mexican equivalent of the circumcision thing. Which, by the way, we also decided against when we thought our unborn daughter was a boy. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/71 "2011-10-22T16:24:36Z")
My brother and sister-in-law got both my nieces’ ears pierced right away. My sister-in-law comes from a Brazilian family. It was a little shocking to see itty bitty babies with studs and I was kind of worried that the babies would tug them, rip them out or manage to swallow a piece, but it’s apparently not an issue. At 4 and 2, they are both adorably girly girls and like their earrings. I don’t think I would do it to my newborn (my mom made me wait until I was 11) but I don’t think it’s a big deal anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/72 "2011-10-22T18:35:23Z")
> [@chela](#): > > WHoever said it doesn’t hurt is full of it, it’s not like clipping a finger nail! :dubious: It was in my case, and apparently in my daughter’s as well. No blood, no pain. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/73 "2011-10-22T19:27:19Z")
My MIL and her sister had their ears pierced when they were in their forties. My husband and his brother held their hands. They were very brave. (The MIL and her sister.) No info on whether lollipops ensued. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/74 "2011-10-22T21:13:29Z")
> [@chela](#): > > WHoever said it doesn’t hurt is full of it, it’s not like clipping a finger nail! :dubious: I didn’t think it hurt enough to mention any of the 12 times I’ve done it, but I guess I was mistaken. My daughter didn’t seem to think so either. She cried more when they drew the dots on her ears than when they did the actual piercing. But babies are wrong a lot. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/75 "2011-10-22T21:22:41Z")
We’ve talked this topic in the ground a million times. It’s just a hole. Yes, I am aware that some people have metal allergies. Or that piercings can get infected. Or a myriad of other low-risk bad things can happen. But we are a society where a freakin’ large segment of the population thinks it’s alright to chop off the foreskin of infant penii. Some do it for hygienic reasons. But a whole heap of 'em do it because of culture and “It’s just what we do.” Of course they won’t admit as much. No one wants to admit to doing stuff just because everyone else around them does it and they don’t want to be the odd man out. I got my ears pierced when I was six. It was non-consensual…not the result of me asking for the procedure. One of my aunts, who I rarely got to see, took my sis and I to the mall to get it done. I think it was her way of having a special “experience” with us. I don’t remember a single thing about it except that she was happy (don’t know what my mother felt about it). I don’t even remember being afraid or feeling the pain afterwards. And you know what? My aunt has been dead for a long time, and I don’t have many memories of her. But I will always have those piercings because of her. Not too many people can say they’ve left such a “mark” on me. I’m the last thing from a girly-girl, but I have no regrets about my piercings. Occasionally I do wear earrings and it’s nice to have the holes. If it had been left to me, I would have never gotten it done because I’m lazy like that. My life wouldn’t have been ruined, but like I said. It’s nice to be able to wear earrings. And not just those heavy-ass clip-on kind. I think some people must believe there’s something sexual about earrings. That’s the only reason why I can think that anyone would get worked up about such a relatively harmless custom. Let them snip away at the boys, but oh noes! Leave the little girls alone! As far as the ethnicity thing goes, it’s not an uncommon practice about black Americans either. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/76 "2011-10-23T17:09:43Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > “We have to do it when she’s an infant, so they’re easier to take care of” has to be the dumbest argument I’ve ever heard. How about you wait until she’s old enough to express her desire for a permanent body modification… People (including Dopers on this very board) make that argument all the time regarding male circumcision. At least if you take the earings out the holes can close back up. Foreskin doesn’t grow back. [QUOTE=Mom-of-Andrew] …Why yes – I think parents of multiples who have trouble telling them apart are absolutely correct in having a tiny identifier tattoo placed on the bottom of their newborns’ feet… [/QUOTE] I went to school with a set of indentical twin boys; one of whom was circumcised & the other left intact for this very reason. By the time I met them (grade 1) their mother could easily tell them apart without pulling their pants down. ---
**Author:** ![RedWood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f08c70/32.png) [@RedWood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedWood)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/77 "2011-10-23T17:38:18Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > [Actual photo](http://twitter.com/#!/schoolinthekids/status/119861680799887361/photo/1) of a tattoo a student of mine got from a friend’s dad. > > I thought it would lighten up the thread. glad the wearer cant see the mispelilgn… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/78 "2011-10-24T10:05:56Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > She may have been eighteen (maybe), but the amount of work she had had done suggest to me that she started getting tatted up as a minor. So I don’t think it’s illegal to have a child tattooed. In states where it’s legal for a minor to be tattooed, they require tattoo artists to have notarized consent forms from the parents. At least that’s my artist does as a professional. He also is more willing to tattoo a minor if the parent comes in with the paperwork rather than the minor coming in with notarized papers and no parents present. This isn’t always the case, though, as we can see by the tattoo done by **CitizenPained** ’s student’s parent. (That work was most likely done by an unlicensed tattoo artist, as the work is very poorly done and looks like there may not have been a standard tattoo ink used. Blotchy, uneven and misspelled? Yikes!) Ear piercing of infants isn’t terribly uncommon IME, but, like others have mentioned, tends to cluster around different ethnic groups as a cultural practice. I don’t see a problem with it, as it’s relatively minor as far as culturally mandated body modifications go. It’s not like we’re suggesting female genital circumcision here. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/79 "2011-10-24T11:21:04Z")
In Spain it’s standard to pierce female babies’ ears, I think if you don’t want it done you have to warn the medical team in advance. You can also ask to have a baby boy’s ears pierced, but that’s rarer and likely to lead to confusion since people will look at a baby’s ears to try and figure out its gender if the clothing doesn’t proclaim it. The Kidlette is 3yo as of this month and her ears are pierced; one of my own baptism presents was a baby-sized set of pearls. The 9yo son of a friend got his ears pierced at 6 because he was wearing faralaes to a school party and he didn’t like any of the clip-on earrings, the ones he wanted required piercings (the dress belonged to his big cousin and he’d wanted to wear it since she’d first got it). ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345/80 "2011-10-24T14:28:53Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > My ex-GF doesn’t have pierced ears and, when people noticed this, they would quite often tell her of a good piercing place and assure her that it wouldn’t hurt. This despite her having a nose and lip piercing already. They didn’t examine her ears, but they could see her ears and assumed that she wanted them pierced. People have this kind of information on hand? I have several piercings in my ears, and even if somebody _asked_ me where she could have hers pierced, I’d be like, “I dunno. Google it.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-really-still-pierce-infants-ears/600345.md?page=5)