# Men and Nose Rings...Why Not? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 25, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227 "2008-09-25T21:39:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/1 "2008-09-25T21:39:58Z")
Just curious. I have never seen a man with a nose ring (aside from men that have gone so far as to have most of their faces pierced…tongues, lips, eyebrows, ears, etc…know what I mean?) I’m talking about a guy who maybe has an ear piercing or two or none…a regular guy who just happens to have his nose pierced. I think it’s attractive (well, mine is, anyway!) on women, so why not men? I’d like it. Any thoughts on why this isn’t more (if at all) prevalent? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/2 "2008-09-25T21:51:54Z")
I don’t know many lightly pierced guys with a [Nostril](http://tattoo.about.com/cs/beginners/l/blpgfacenostril.htm)piercing, sure. I suspect the prevalence of gorgeous [Indian grandmothers](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Indian_Woman_with_bindi.jpg) with nostril piercings makes that one a little too femme for most guys, unless they have a lot of metal. But I know more men than women with [Septum](http://tattoo.about.com/cs/beginners/l/blpgfaceseptum.htm)piercings, and [Bridge](http://tattoo.about.com/cs/beginners/l/blpgfacebridge.htm)piercings seem fairly equigendered - although that’s probably not on of the first piercings anyone gets. I’ve \*never \*seen a woman with a [Septril](http://wiki.bmezine.com/index.php/Septril). ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/3 "2008-09-26T10:57:43Z")
I’m not against piercings of any kind. However, I think the nose is generally the ugliest part of a persons face. So why would anyone want to draw attention to it? And if you are one of those lucky few who has a gorgeous honker; why fuck it up? (YMMV) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/4 "2008-09-26T11:18:46Z")
My family had a herd of cows when I was growing up, and we’d put a nose ring on a mean bull to train him to the lead, so I can’t help but associate that sort of thing with cattle. I don’t mean that in any denigrating way or anything; to each his own. To answer the OP, _generally speaking_, men are less fond of adornments, rappers notwithstanding, and will put up with far less discomfort/inconvenience than women for adornment purposes. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/5 "2008-09-26T13:16:21Z")
It’s not all that unheard of on the west coast (I know lots of guys when I lived in the northwest in the mid 90s who had nose rings. Just an eyebrow ring was also not uncommon for guys. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/6 "2008-09-26T14:02:13Z")
The guy across the street from me has two nose rings. I don’t see them all the time, but I’m surprised to hear someone say she’s never seen one. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/7 "2008-09-26T14:53:05Z")
Yeah, I see it all the time. It used to be a lot more prevalent among guys in my area in the late 90s or so, but it’s still around. And I mean a few (nose, ear, eyebrow, etc) per guy as a popular fad, not an occasional chain-mailed freak everybody stares at. Personally, I’m not a big fan of piercings. On the right girl, they can look amazing, but on most women and every guy I’ve seen, I think piercings just look kind of silly. Anyway, because piercings can be taken out and closed up, I think they lend themselves to coming and going with the fashion of the day, as opposed to tattoos, which seem to maintain their popularity (or lack) pretty steadily. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/8 "2008-09-26T15:00:21Z")
Yes, do visit the Pacific Northwest. It’s hardware city. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/9 "2008-09-26T15:07:24Z")
I’m a guy and I wore a small ring in my right nostril for probably eight years. I took it out the night before I started my first job post-law school. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/10 "2008-09-26T15:28:02Z")
I’ve seen it, usually the kind in the middle (like a bull). Not a fan. This won’t fly in all areas, but perhaps its relative rarity’s got something to do with so many Indian women having the diamond-in-the-side kind. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/11 "2008-09-26T16:13:36Z")
Based on the title, I was going to say “because it looks so stupid.” ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/12 "2008-09-26T18:07:51Z")
I don’t like them on women or men. But I’d say women might be more open to piercings because a rite of passage of many little girls is getting their ears pierced. And possibly second piercings. And it just goes from there. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/13 "2008-09-26T18:18:41Z")
I dated a guy with a nose ring a while back. Somehow, on him it looked sexigood. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/14 "2008-09-26T18:33:41Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I’ve \*never \*seen a woman with a [Septril](http://wiki.bmezine.com/index.php/Septril). Sorry. Makes me want to hand the poor guy a kleenex to catch that drop of snot. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/15 "2008-09-26T18:35:18Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Based on the title, I was going to say “because it looks so stupid.” This. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/16 "2008-09-27T02:22:04Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > This. How appropos for this response: Because it makes it even more dangerous to go out in thunderstorms. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/17 "2008-09-27T09:51:48Z")
I’ve seen it, but yeah it’s more prevalent on women (especially studs as opposed to rings). Guys tend to be more into the eyebrow, tongue, or alternative ear placement. Of course on anyone with multiple piercings all bets are off. It’s just another gender style preference. Women were also more traditionally likely to add a beauty mark or bindi to their noses before piercing was popular, so that ties in to it as well. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/18 "2008-09-27T11:07:52Z")
Maybe it’s a work thing. More men have physical jobs where a nose ring could get ripped out during work. Living in Wisconsin I see a nose ring as a problem for cold weather too. In a bar it would be the focus of some asshole and get it ripped out. A runny nose and allergies must be a bitch too. ---
**Author:** ![Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3da27b/32.png) [@Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nikki_Tikki_Tavi)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/19 "2008-09-27T16:28:35Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I don’t know many lightly pierced guys with a [Nostril](http://tattoo.about.com/cs/beginners/l/blpgfacenostril.htm)piercing, sure. I suspect the prevalence of gorgeous [Indian grandmothers](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Indian_Woman_with_bindi.jpg) with nostril piercings makes that one a little too femme for most guys, unless they have a lot of metal. But I know more men than women with [Septum](http://tattoo.about.com/cs/beginners/l/blpgfaceseptum.htm)piercings, and [Bridge](http://tattoo.about.com/cs/beginners/l/blpgfacebridge.htm)piercings seem fairly equigendered - although that’s probably not on of the first piercings anyone gets. I’ve \*never \*seen a woman with a [Septril](http://wiki.bmezine.com/index.php/Septril). I’ve seen nostril piercings on guys, but more frequently on women. I’ve seen just as many septum piercings on women as men, ditto briges. I’ve never seen a septril, period! I had to google it (link blocked from work). I have friends who own a piercing studio, I’ll have to ask them if they’ve ever done one. Mmm, piercings. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-and-nose-rings-why-not/465227/20 "2008-09-27T18:19:21Z")
My septum is pierced and stretched to 6 gauge. I wear it hidden at work with a single-flare up in there. I think any nose piercing is going to be distracting in a way that an ear isn’t. I’m comfortable with that outside of work. I think that’s the reason you don’t see it as much: it’s just too distracting.