Foreskin. It’s a tiny piece of skin found on the end of the penis that is getting big attention from parents, many that wonder if they should circumcise or not.
For Enedina Vance, the answer is not. The mother of six did admits she had never thought about circumcision until she did some research about it while pregnant with her first son and opted out of the procedure.
For the record, in 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics found that the health benefits of circumcising newborn males outweighs any risks and that the final decision should be left of to the parents.
Vance, however, doesn’t agree.
“I’m very passionate about children’s right to physical integrity. Each and every one of us has the right to our own body, our entire body,” she told Yahoo! Beauty. “… The U.S. set a law in place protecting infant girls from cultural and religious genital cutting in 1997. Why are infant boys not equally protected?”
(Female genital mutilation – the ritual cutting of the genitalia – has indeed been outlawed in the United States, but it also poses life-threatening health risks to females, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.)
So, in a recent Facebook post, the mom and anti-circumcision activist tried to drive her point home by PhotoShopping a facial piercing onto her daughter with the caption, “…”MY BABY, MY CHOICE!! PARENT’S CHOICE, PARENT’S RIGHTS. Don’t judge my parenting, we all raise our kids differently, it’s none of your business anyway!!”
Many parents saw her shocking-but-obvious PhotoShop job as a statement aimed to point out the hypocrisy surrounding baby ear piercings, but not other modifications. But many others thought it was offensive or real, with some even screaming for the CPS to get involved.
It’s easy to see how some outside of Vance’s circle (or who just glanced at the photo) were confused or angered by the original post – which is written in an over-the-top manner and ends with telling-but-tiny #IntactGeneration and #sarcasm hashtags. A few readers were livid that Vance was “using” her daughter to make her point. And still others were quick to voice opposing opinions supporting circumcision.
It all left Vance asking Yahoo, “Why are her ears any different than her face? Why is it OK to modify, alter and mutilate our children to society’s standards?”
Circumcision and baby ear-piercings are two hot-button topics for parents, no doubt. But Vance does have a point when it comes to being entitled to your own body and standards that we set for what is acceptable.
Where do you draw the line between parental rights and a child’s bodily autonomy?
Did this mom go too far to make her point? Let us know in the comments.
Photo from original Facebook post by Enedina Vance.
