Body Politics is The Scene’s look behind the AU student body’s tattoos, piercings and other body adornments. D.C.’s a buttoned-up city, but everyone has a little rebellion in them. This is where we get into the stories behind the body art.
Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, FKA Twigs, Rihanna and Scarlett Johansson all have either real or faux septum piercings, but this isn’t the only reason why septum piercings are on the rise.
Nose piercings aren’t just for punks anymore. Through a wave of celebrity endorsements, it’s clear that society is increasingly accepting of metal face adornments. The evidence is in the numbers: 23 percent of millennials have a piercing somewhere other than the ear, according to a Pew Research profile on millennials.
Unlike most facial piercings, septums offer flexibility. Depending on the type of ring, a septum piercing can be flipped up out of sight at any given moment. From a social perspective, the question arises: who are the “flip-up”’ people, and what are the “flip-down” situations?
Marissa Lorusso, a first-year graduate student in AU’s International Communication department, got her septum pierced in late August. She got the piercing soon after moving to D.C. to attend grad school.
“I thought it would look cool,” Lorusso said. “I have noticed a lot of people getting them recently, and I feel like they’re more accepted now.”
While no particular celebrities influenced her, she did cite flexibility — the ability to have it flipped up or flipped down — as a reason for going through with the piercing.
Haleigh Francis, a senior in the School of Communication, got her septum pierced in mid-February. It hasn’t been long enough for her to switch out the jewelry just yet, so while Lorusso has transitioned to a full ring, Francis is always wearing the u-shaped piece.
Francis admits that she was influenced by a growing number of people getting the piercing, but, aside from that, she has had a similar, positive experience to what Lorusso went through.
“Most of my friends were pretty surprised, shocked — not in a bad way. I never experienced any negativity,” Francis said.
As with most people who have a septum piercing, Francis and Lorusso have to be constantly aware of when they want to have jewelry flipped up, flipped down or in their septum in the first place.
Lorusso’s parents and the professor she works for are all “flip-up” people.
She also pointed out that the District has somewhat of a flip-up culture. Maybe it was the new city, or maybe it was the new piercing, but she found that people seemed to stare more in Washington.
Francis also has several flip-up people and situations in her life including her job at the library, and most of her classes. Just like Lorusso, Francis said that her decision to wear the ring up or down is always situational. In some classes, she is comfortable enough to wear it down while others she keeps it out of sight.
“In most relatively professional settings, I wear it up,”Francis said.
There was only one instance where Francis had any issue with her septum piercing: when she forgot to flip it up before a job interview.
“A few minutes in and I noticed they were kind of staring at it,” she said. “But no one has ever said anything negative.”
As with Francis, Lorusso has only had a single deviation from her overall positive experience. Lorusso’s moment came when a random guy at a bar tried to use the jewelry as the basis for a pick-up line.
“That was an awkward experience,” Lorusso said, however, she thought the encounter was more uncomfortable than mean-spirited.
A septum piercing can be an ideal addition or a strong start to anyone’s body art collection. Both AU students are strong supporters of anyone who has an inclination to get a septum piercing.
“It is a really accessible piercing, [you can] keep it hidden or keep it down and available,” Francis said. “It is a very acceptable piercing, one that you can be comfortable with.”
