What is the ‘septum arms’ trend taking over TikTok?

‘Septum arms’ are the newest TikTok meme that came about from a misunderstanding on a recent TikTok video making fun of septum piercings; while the phrase doesn’t have any actual meaning, TikTokers have made it their mission to give it one…or several.

What are ‘septum arms’ on TikTok?

TikTok is one of those delightfully odd places where phrases take on new meaning, largely because folks who use the platform are forced to adapt their way of talking to avoid being banned from the app. Phrases like “unalived” for “killed” have wormed their way into everyday vernacular because of this algorithm issue. 

@kirkiimad

😓😓

♬ Originalton – marie‘

As fascinating as the shift in language is, sometimes TikTok comes up with some truly bizarre trends and memes that take on a life of their own. This is very much the case in the instance of ‘septum arms,’ a budding phenomenon that came about from a misunderstanding on a TikTok video about a woman’s arms where someone made a crude comment. That being said, no one discussing this new trend names the TikToker who started the conversation in the first place!

Overall, the consensus is that ‘septum arms’ as a phrase is nonsensical. It doesn’t mean anything, especially given the fact that the septum is a dividing wall or membrane, for things like your nostrils or heart. The arms don’t have any septums on them, so this is a classic case of a made-up phrase morphing into something else.

Speculation about the meaning of ‘septum arms’ on TikTok

Even though we know that the ‘septum arms’ TikTok trend doesn’t actually mean anything, people on the social media app are all trying to come up with a consensus on what it could mean, with a few possibilities taking the charge.

Some people are suggesting that it means that the person’s arms are larger above the elbow than below.

Other people say that it’s the squish that comes from the arm when you lie down.

@thegr8pretender #stitch with @nuumuhuupi hey! I like your pink bedding! 😂🥰🩷 #septumarms ♬ Originalton – marie‘

There are still others who simply define it as “chubby arms.”

And those who say that the origin of the term is more complex than that, say that it relates to self-harm scars on people’s arms.

TikTokers are turning the ‘septum arms’ trend into a body positivity movement

Given that there are a significant number of TikTokers deciding that the ‘septum arms’ trend means bigger arms, a lot of femme TikTokers have decided to claim the term for themselves and spread positivity to their followers and FYPs.

TikToker Emma (@ehalst) shared a video of her looking very cute in a flowy blouse, writing in the caption, “your arms are adorable and so are mine<3” While this post is a couple years old, it has drawn a lot of comments in the past day with people asking about ‘septum arms’ in the comments section.

@ehalst your arms are adorable and so are mine&lt3 #redhair #septum #midsize #arms #normalize #makeup #inspo #trending ♬ original sound – speedxsoundzxz

This post has a lot of people in the comments saying how seeing their arms on someone else boosted their confidence.

Another user, Megs (@themeganrhiann), did a fit check on her TikTok account and said in the overlay of her video, “after finding out what ‘septum arms’ are I am no longer wearing this jacket today” as she shows off her beautiful pink maxi dress. The aforementioned white jacket is pulled down to her elbows as she poses for the camera and puts on sunglasses.

@themeganrhiann they’re just coming fast with these new terms 🙄 #plussize #plussizedress #fyp #plussizefashion #septumarms ♬ original sound – 𝒜

More TikTok trends:

• That viral ‘Gen Z boss in a mini’ video is peak corporate cringe
• White tube top girl’s viral TikTok dance turns her into a meme
• The blue sweatpants girl who nailed the TikTok Tyla dance
• Who is the ‘spit on that thing’ (hawk tuah) girl?