Mum Outrages Parents With Photo Of Toddler's 'Piercing' To Campaign Against Child Circumcision

A mum sparked outrage online when she shared a photo of her daughter with a dimple “piercing”.

Enedina Vance, from Ohio, US, posted the photo on 28 June with the caption: “So I got the baby girl’s dimple pierced.

“It looks so 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.”

The photo was shared more than 12,000 times and the majority of people who believed the piercing was real were shocked.

“This is disturbing at hell,” one person wrote. “Each to their own.”

Another wrote: “No this is not right, not on her face.”

But people soon caught on that Vance’s post was sarcastic, and was intended to shock parents and start a conversation about how some parents alter their children’s bodies, including through circumcision.

She told IBT Times she has been campaigning against child circumcision ever since she was asked, when pregnant with her first child in 1998, if she would want her son’s foreskin removed by a doctor.

Commenting of the photo of Vance’s daughter, one person wrote: “I see what you’re doing here. I thought this was real at first. I hope it opens up some people’s eyes to what they’re doing to babies - piercing, circumcision, all that.”

Another mum commented, sarcastically: “And she looks so happy! I bet she ‘slept right through it’, right? If it was done ‘right’, she did.

“I prefer dimples pierced and everyone knows having a baby pierced is all about what the parents prefer.”

Vance shared another post explaining why she uploaded the photo.

She wrote on 29 June: “So it appears the focus was on how insane it would be if a parent were to modify and alter their child by forcing them to undergo a facial piercing. People were outraged and rightfully so.

“Honestly, my post was meant to shock parents into seeing their children as human beings and to respect them as such. Every angry person who shared my post, did so in an attempt to shine light on an injustice.

“Some people feel that uneasy feeling of guilt and possibly shame for making a mistake as a parent is what is also known as ‘parent shaming’.

“Unfortunately, they may not have seen piercings or genital cutting as body altering or body modifications before, but they do now and they don’t like how they feel about it. That, of course, is understandable.

“Altering a child’s body simply for aesthetic reasons is wrong.”

Before You Go

7 Fun Creative Craft Projects For Toddlers

Make a crown fit for a prince or princess(01 of07)

Wrap bendable card around your child's head, take the measurement and trim off the excess card. Next, cut the card into a crown using a zigzag or get creative and try sticky-up hair or a favourite animal’s head or ears. Now it's your toddler's turn to decorate the card with felt tip pens, paint and glued-on bits of paper. Once they’re done staple the short sides together to create the crown. This is a great craft project for a play date. (credit:Matelly via Getty Images)

Make a car for whacky races(02 of07)

Large cardboard boxes are just begging to be transformed into cars. Glue paper plates to the side as wheels and let your child's imagination roar. They may want to draw in people and make a bus or add windscreens and doors but let them take the driving seat. (credit:patrickheagney via Getty Images)

Make a mask(03 of07)

Make masks with paper plates, hole punched on either side and threaded with elastic to fit your child's head. Your toddler can create whatever face they like using pens, paint, cut up tissue paper for hair and pipe cleaners for whiskers. (credit:igor kisselev, www.close-up.biz via Getty Images)

Make a model with modelling clay(04 of07)

Toddlers love squishing, rolling and moulding play dough with different shaped cutters and their hands. Keep your homemade play dough in a sealed container or mix up a new batch with this super simple recipe: 3 cups of flour; 2 tablespoons of cornflour, 1 cup of salt, 1 cup of cold water and 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil. Your toddler will love mixing up the ingredients. Divide your dough and choose different food colourings. Note: The salt content of homemade play dough is very high - keep an eye on your toddler to make sure they don’t eat any. (credit:Westend61 via Getty Images)

Do some potato printing and finger painting(05 of07)

Halve a few potatoes and cut out shapes of stars, circles, letters or animals (whatever your child asks you to do). Then, dip the cut out potato half into washable, brightly coloured poster paint and it's time for some stamping fun on plain paper. Hand printing is lots of squelchy fun too (and you'll have a lovely record of just how little their hands were). (credit:Michaela Gunter via Getty Images)

Make some binoculars or a telescope(06 of07)

This couldn't be simpler: after your toddler has painted two cardboard tubes the colours of their choice, tape them together for a pair of binoculars. A single longer roll (from your kitchen towel) makes a great pirate's telescope too. (credit:Chris Stein via Getty Images)

Make some silly glasses(07 of07)

Cut out a pair of glasses in plain cardboard. Stick coloured cellophane into the holes as lenses and let your toddler paint them in bright, funky colours. Once the paint is dry, provide a selection of sparkly bits and pieces to decorate: think sequins, buttons, self-adhesive spots, even pasta shapes. Now your toddler is ready for a super-cute photo opportunity. Note: Ensure your toddler is supervised at all times as small objects like sequins and buttons are choking hazards. (credit:Westend61 via Getty Images)