“I want you to be able to look at me and see that I am a safe space.”

A TikTok creator mocked as “proof” of the web’s so-called “nose ring theory” has reclaimed the insult, turning it into an emblem of resistance. In a 36-second TikTok video posted on July 28, 2025, @suuusie.q stated her septum piercing is intentional, a strategy to sign her progressive values and to face firmly in opposition to misogyny. Rather than draw back from the stereotype, she embraced it, telling viewers: “If I’m not for you—good.”

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“I want to look this way. I want you to be able to look at me and see that I am a safe space,” she stated.

What is the “nose ring theory”?

The “nose ring theory,” or “septum theory,” refers back to the unfounded notion that individuals with septum piercings are marked by trauma and undergo from “mental illness.” The idea suggests that ladies with nostril rings maintain radical feminist and anti-establishment views. Nose ring idea represents a problematic, reductive stereotype usually promoted by bigots and misogynists on-line. 

Know Your Meme traced the speculation’s origin to black males’s rights activist Torraine Walker, who started making outlandish claims about individuals with septum piercings as early as 2017. He soft-launched his idea with a tweet that learn, “A septum ring is pretty much a hazard light on Twitter at this point. ☠.” The July 2017 submit racked up a whopping 18 likes in eight years. 

In 2023, Walker defined the speculation in a TikTok video. He made a case that ladies with septum rings are “anti-black misandrists” who play the sufferer and espouse deranged ideologies. Supporters have since referenced the nostril ring idea in on-line commentary and memes that focus on ladies and folks with septum piercings all through the 2020s.

From insult to identification; reclaiming the dig

@suuusie.q’s submit got here in response to commenters on social media who dismiss individuals, significantly ladies, who put on septum rings by citing “nose ring theory.”

In her video, @suuusie.q defined that her nostril ring lets everybody know what her values are. She stated, “Your comments saying ‘nose ring theory’ are literally doing the opposite of what you think they are. I want to look this way. I want you to be able to look at me and see that I am a safe space.” 

The video went viral, with 5 million views on X.com, the place it was shared by account @DefiantLs. Commenters willfully missed @suuusie.q’s level and discounted her views due to her bodily look. 

@suuusie.q stated she is for ladies and in opposition to Trump—and he or she desires you to take a look at her and understand it.

“Honestly, if I’m not for you—good.”

@suuusie.q and but y’all nonetheless fetishize alt ladies make that make sense  #fyp #foryou #viral #piercings #hair #alt #fdt #bizarre #feedback #ladies #forthegirls ♬ authentic sound – SUSIEQ

“I’ve never heard of nose ring theory but it sounds like it means ‘people I’d get along with.’”

“Exactly the reason I look and dress the way I do. It’s a filter first and foremost. a broadcast of what I’m about.”

“I started wearing my septum because of the nose ring theory.”

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