Source: Hellobeautiful.com

I was riding with the Smith’s on their decision to let Willow cut all of her hair off once I heard Will’s explanation about allowing her to have control over her body. From the looks of pictures that popped up over the weekend, that control extends far beyond her hair because it appears as though 11-year-old Willow has gotten her tongue pierced.

In an Instagram photo with another girl with a chin piercing who appears to be around her same age, Willow opened her mouth wide to show off the ball on her tongue. All sorts of speculation sprung up once the image went viral yesterday with some assuming Will and Jada have lost their minds letting their daughter pierce her tongue, others thinking maybe she snuck and got the piercing, and some deciding it’s just a fake magnetic piercing. Real or fake isn’t so much the issue, although it would probably be preferable that this wasn’t a permanent deal, but either way, we find ourselves asking once again, is this little girl doing too much? (or being allowed to do too much?)

The hair thing I’m over. As I said earlier, I get the self-expression and the declaration of not being one’s hair which is a good lesson for girls to learn early. I don’t see as much of a message in the tongue ring. I remember when I was a teenager there was all this sexual stigma around tongue piercings and when I got my tongue pierced at 18, let’s just say going to church and to family gatherings was not fun. I thought it was “cute” but people were making all sorts of assumptions about my lifestyle as a result of it; I was getting scolded by a few elders, and technically at that age I was an adult. I’m not sure if a pierced tongue still symbolizes the same thing today, but if it does, no 11-year-old needs to be walking around with it.

Another thing I will say for the case against this is there is something to be said about a child waiting til he or she is the proper age to do certain things. Willow already being a privileged child, I’m sure she’s seen and done more than most adults, already as a pre-teen, but when she’s a young woman who has already seen and done it all by 16, 18 at the most, what will be left for her to explore? The child will be bored on life. Considering that reality, I don’t think it would hurt to slow her down just a tad. But, as I know most of you are going to point out, this is not my child and not my business. I’m just waiting for the tattoo to pop up.

What do you think about Willow’s piercing? Would you give your daughter consent for a tongue ring at 11?

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

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