This Is What The Duggars Think About Ear Piercings

It's a well-known fact that the Duggar family has some pretty strict rules when it comes to things like modesty, relationships, and the female body. Throughout the years, this ultra-conservative Christian family hasn't been shy about sharing their views on TLC's 19 Kids and Counting, as well as Counting On. However, some who have followed their story may be surprised to learn how they feel about one specific rite of passage: Ear piercings. So, do the Duggars pierce their ears? Well, from what we know, the girls do, at least.

E! News reported in 2014 that Jordyn was treated to her very own pierced ears as a special birthday present. When the second-youngest Duggar child turned 6, her parents allowed her to experience the rite of passage. The family shared on their official blog: "Since Josie's fifth birthday eight days ago, Jordyn, Josie, and Mackynzie Duggar have all been five years old. Today, Jordyn turns six years old. To celebrate, Michelle took her to a local boutique to have her ears pierced."

Mackynzie Duggar, the eldest child of Josh and Anna Duggar, also had her ear piercing experience mentioned in the family blog. Back in May of 2010, the family wrote: "What's new at the home of Josh and Anna?? Their daughter Mackynzie recently had her ears pierced! Josh was very excited, while Anna was a little uneasy. They both agreed that it would be best to have the procedure done while she is too little to remember."

The blog post continued:

Josh and his sisters took Mackynzie to the mall while Anna went to a different store so she wouldn't have to see her daughter upset. "She'll be fine in five minutes," Josh assured his wife, "It will be no problem." It took a little more than five minutes to calm Mackynzie down, but everyone agrees that she looks adorable.

Well, there's your answer right there. Although it's difficult to tell much of the time — thanks to all of the sisters' long, flowing hair that often covers their ears — it seems like nearly all of the Duggar girls have their ears pierced. (As far as I can tell, though, none of the Duggar boys have ear piercings.) Jinger does!

So do Jessa and Jill.

What's so surprising about ear piercings, you ask? Some Christians believe that it shouldn't be done, citing the Bible. According Bible Hub, Leviticus 19:28 in the New American Standard Bible reads: "You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD." Although this verse doesn't name piercings specifically, it's the "cuts in your body" part that some Christians take literally. Then again, Jinger's husband Jeremy Vuolo has a tattoo on his arm — and the word "tattoo" does appear in this passage.

Considering the Duggars derive many of their other family rules from literal passages in Bible, the fact they're OK with ear piercings might seem odd to some. Take the rule on girls wearing their hair long, for example. "Our hairstyle is our choice and we choose longer hair based on our understanding of 1 Corinthians 11:14-15," the older sisters wrote in their book, Growing Up Duggar, according to E! News. Here are the verses to which they are referring, according to Bible Hub:

Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering.

Look, I'm not here to judge the Duggar family. If they're cool with ear piercings, that's fine by me. (I have 10 piercings in my ears, after all.) Religious beliefs aside, every family has the right to abide by their own house rules. But considering their fundamentalist tendencies, this one definitely caught me off guard.

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