ICYMI, the latest TikTok trend, “Septum Arms,” is a fun, new way to critique bodies on the internet. And no, it has nothing to do with the cartilage between your nostrils, which can look edgy when pierced. As a curvy millennial, I have just about had it with the ever-changing beauty standards around our bodies. I grew up when hip bones popping out of low-rise jeans were all the rage. Now we’re back there again.
Lena Dunham summed it up perfectly when she spoke to The New Yorker for the magazine’s June profile. “It seems like we had this moment of body positivity, and then every single day, it’s like we’re looking around, and it’s like our masses are decreasing.” Can we go back to embracing our curves instead of celebrating the skeleton, please, please, please? Here’s everything about the septum arms “trend” and why my body image is rightfully exhausted.
What Are Septum Arms?
“Septum Arms” is today’s “Butter Face.” As in, she’s hot, “but her face” now you can also look good, “‘cept them arms.” Septum Arms….’cept them arms…get it? Ugh, I hate it here.
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Septum Arms is my last straw on our bodies as trends. I have barely survived thigh gaps, FUPAS, muffin tops…the list goes on. Our bodies are not for making fun of; they’re for living in. And who’s coming up with these buzzy words to call out mostly women’s ever-changing bodies designed for bringing literal life into this world? Oh, mostly men, of course. You’d never say a man is hot ‘cept them arms — but you know what? If they won’t stop dragging our bodies, maybe we should drag theirs? Septum hairline. Buthis height. I could go on. That’s the true definition of feminism: being treated equally, right? Right?! *slowly gets off soapbox*
How Did ‘Septum Arms’ Become A Thing?
Honestly, it’s not surprising that our bodies are subject to another trend. I was raised by an almond mom before there was a word to explain the frustration of petite mothers who thought a handful of raw, unsalted nuts was a reasonable snack. I grew up with tabloids telling me that skeleton celebrities with hip bones popping out of their low-rise jeans were hot and that Jessica Simpson, in her double-belted size four mom jeans, was not.
And if we didn’t want to look like “Jumbo Jessica,” then we should follow what celebrities eat in a day… which is basically nothing. Or maybe try a diet where you only eat cereal. But when I tried the Special K diet over spring break in college, I passed out before I even made it to lunch. (To be fair, it might’ve been the kamikaze shots because it was spring break.)
Every year, there’s another diet or body trend that is essentially glorifying eating disorders. Atkins, Paleo, Keto, Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free, Juice Cleanse, Detox. I have whiplash trying to keep track of it all. And now they’re attacking our arms?!
Will Tabloids Ever Learn? (Spoiler Alert: No)
I wish I could say that tabloids have evolved since Jessica Simpson-gate, but it feels like they’ve gotten worse. With covers still promoting stars’ dramatic weight loss or paparazzi shots zooming in on celebrity cellulite, haven’t we been through enough? It doesn’t help that we’re so used to seeing filtered, photoshopped, face-tuned images on socials that we don’t know what real, natural bodies look like anymore, forcing us to do a “skinny arm” pose only to be told it makes us look old. And when we finally have the confidence to show off our arms, we’re now being told they’re our biggest flaw?! ENOUGH!
There was a time when we seemed to all collectively agree to throw diet culture and body shaming in the trash and start embracing body positivity. #TBT amiright?!
I know it’s hard to remember because even though more and more brands brag about being size-inclusive now –– it’s SO rare that you actually see those clothes proudly displayed in the racks or on mannequins. It feels like all of the body positivity work was retracted when every celebrity over a size six started quietly taking Ozempic and then denied they were on the semaglutide initially intended for people with diabetes. But then again, they weren’t lying to us, as they were never on Ozempic. They were on Mounjaro.
You know what’s the catch-22 of all that? If you lost a lot of weight with the help of a weight loss drug, do you know the biggest tell? The extra skin on your Septum Arms.
F You FYP
And then there’s TikTok, the place where we learned about septum arms — which currently has millions of views on its tag page — and other terrible things, like what a Sway House is.
For example, a formally plus size influencer (I won’t name names) who grew a following by sharing how fashion designers do not consider real women’s bodies and curves when designing clothes –– now flaunts how her body is getting smaller every time she pops up on my for you page. Or another influencer who urges her followers to “act skinny, get skinny, act fat, get fat,” as her hand shakes (presumably from starvation).
Our arms sag, as demonstrated by Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate in The Sweetest Thing, and they were only 28 — and also it was Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate, so enough with the septum arms and diet culture propaganda. Your arms are fine, just the way they are. Show them off. Flaunt them. Wear that sleeveless shirt. And while you’re at it, use that lovely limb of yours to flip off anyone who has anything to say about your beautiful body.
