I always try to keep away from these ear piercing threads - never works!
Firstly, a lot of people in the UK believe THEIR way is THE way. Only the cultural practices THEY approve are the only acceptable ones. It isn't different from what happened hundreds of years ago when the 'heathens' and their abhorrent practices were banished.
I accept that you will never understand but I'll try to answer some questions asked.
@TapasForTwo - just because you have asked several times, Cultural practice - our cultural practice of ear piercing goes down to the very origins of the culture (much earlier than UK culture) so that now, it is just ingrained in us and there is no longer a need for a reason. It's like how people wear clothes in the summer in the UK. Why? Are you cold? Afraid of body parts? When did the practice begin? I've heard of reasons for ear piercings but there is no point going into it. Boys in my culture CANNOT have their ears pierced - it's a female thing. In fact, you can see boys / men in the air plane take off their earrings before landing at home.
This practice is so entrenched in our culture that the baby's ear is pierced before leaving hospital by trained nurses. If the child is ill, the senior doctor comes in to do it. It's part of med school training. I have NEVER seen or heard of a child getting an infection from an ear piercing at that age.
Having it pierced after 2yrs is just brutal to me. Now, that is real pain.
My DCs were only a few months and even that was too late for me. An ear piercing does no damage to a baby. If a female child was seen without an ear piercing, it would be considered that she had parents that were either very neglectful or mentally deficient. It just wouldn't happen.
Culturally, if your daughter's ear wasn't pierced, she would have to work really hard to be accepted in society. It is your role as a mother to ensure her life is as simple as possible.
An uncircumcised man almost doesn't exist in my home country except he was born and abandoned and never adopted. An uncircumcised man would almost never procreate in my culture. That's for another thread though.
For all the talk of acceptance and tolerance, it's always interesting seeing comments about other people's cultures being unacceptable. The rest of the world needs to change their cultures to the UK, do they? I don't intend to convince anyone but have in mind that your view is probably very narrow and represents a tiny portion of the global population.
*PS - No, I'm not uneducated. I've studied to the highest level possible and lived in several different countries.