About

Septum Theory or Septum Ring Theory, also known as Septum Piercing Theory and Nose Ring Theory, is a theory coined by writer and Black men's rights activist Torraine Walker linking feminist ideologies to septum rings, claiming that people with septum piercings, both male and female, are more likely to push misandrist and anti-men talking points online. Walker started making these claims about people with septum rings as early as 2017, routinely pointing out examples of his theory on X / Twitter over the following years. The septum ring theory also became the subject of memes in the 2020s. In 2025, the theory garnered significant virality on sites including X and TikTok, inspiring discussions about its accuracy. Some people define septum ring theory as women who make their entire personality about their past trauma, claiming that many of these types of women typically have septum rings. This definition became more popularized in 2025.

Origin

On July 10th, 2017, X^[1] user, writer and Black men's rights activist Torraine Walker made a post reading, "A septum ring is pretty much a hazard light on Twitter at this point. ☠," garnering 18 likes in eight years.

Sometime around February 23rd, 2023, Walker posted a video to his TikTok page explaining the theory. He reuploaded the video to X^[2] on September 25th after it was seemingly deleted, garnering over 1,200 likes in two years. In the video, Walker specifically calls women with septum rings "anti-Black misandrists," suggesting women with septum rings make "crackpot" theories and espouse feminist, anti-male talking points.

Throughout 2023, he began pointing out examples of his septum theory in action on X,^[3][4] often by commenting, "I see my septum ring theory still holds."

Spread

The theory continued to spread online over the following years, also appearing in memes that loosely matched Torraine Walker's concept.

For instance, on August 26th, 2023, a since-deleted Redditor posted a Political Compass meme to the /r/PoliticalCompassMemes^[12] subreddit with several Wojaks, including two labeled "SJWs" that were described as, "A group of [redacted] septum-pierced women (and one token gay guy) who feel the need to raise their hands and mention social justice or pronouns at every opportunity. Will inevitably end up in public defense or legal aid making no money but it's ok, they're doing the equitable thing," receiving over 760 upvotes and 90 comments in two years.

The term experienced a significant boost in virality throughout 2025 under a somewhat different definition, claiming that it refers to people who make their entire personality about their past trauma.

On March 28th, 2025, Redditor u/Sumve made a post to the /r/TrueUnpopularOpinion^[5] subreddit titled, "I've never met a normal person with a septum piercing," garnering over 800 upvotes in four months. In the post, they relate septum piercings to leftist ideology, writing that at some point, septum rings, "became the flagship characteristic of someone who loves feminism, hates Trump, most likely went through a vegan phase, has strong opinions on Twitter, reacts emotionally to any type of argument, and doesn't value the idea of making sense when they speak."

On March 30th, TikToker^[6] @humanembodimentofatwig, who has a septum ring, posted a video where she complains about boys she goes on dates with telling her they're in love with her, then dumping her. In the video, she continually claims that it's not her fault, but a problem with them. The video gained over a million views in four months and inspired many commenters to write "nose ring theory" and suggest that she or her piercings are the problem.

On April 12th, 2025, YouTuber^[7] The Dadvocate posted a video on the "nose ring theory," closely examining the TikTok video by @humanembodimentofatwig and other videos about the theory. She also does a deep dive into @humanembodimentofatwig's videos to see if they can also be linked to the theory, then looks at studies related to people with piercings. Ultimately, she concludes that the theory might have some credibility, but that it's also used as an insult online. The video garnered over 1.3 million views in three months.

On May 26th, TikToker^[8] @torytorrential posted a video defining septum theory as "women with a septum ring make their trauma their entire personality," garnering over 1.2 million views in just over a month.

On June 9th, TikToker^[9] @wasteharlot posted a video of herself reading, "'septum ring theory' and it's from a middle-aged man who would probably pay money for my attention," garnering over 900,000 views in a month.

On July 2nd, 2025, X^[10] user @Rothmus posted an image macro of a septum piercing, reading, "Once I see this I already know." It was reposted to the /r/ExplainTheJoke^[11] subreddit on July 8th by Redditor u/Fhoxyd22, garnering over 5,800 upvotes in under a day. Many commenters linked the image to septum theory.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References