If you’ve been on TikTok- and you’re not fooling anyone I know you have- you’ve probably at least heard of the term “red nail theory”. This term was brought to the platform by the creator GirlBossTown. But what is it? And when did white nail theory come into play?
In GirlBossTown’s original video she points out that whenever she wore red nails men would comment on them and just in general give her more of their attention. She then connected that to how in the 90s women would wear red nails a lot, meaning that their moms probably sported red nails. She made the connection that since these men’s’ moms wore the red nails; they were more inclined to compliment them.
Color theory can also play into this. Red is associated with passion, love, and intensity. It is one of the boldest colors which makes it very attention grabbing. People are more likely to notice if you paint your nails red then say a pale pink or if you just get French tips. Especially men who typically don’t know the first thing about getting your nails done.
Major pop culture icons have been known to dawn the red nail manicure, cementing into society. Women such as Marilyn Monroe, Jennifer Aniston, and Pamela Anderson have helped to popularize red manicures. This could also lead to people associating red nails with classiness and timelessness, which could all comminate to explain why men compliment red nails more often.
In the world of TikTok, almost every nail color has some deeper meaning to it. Whether it be blue nails meaning you’re taken or white nails meaning you’re single, TikTok loves to assign meaning to things that you might not have otherwise thought twice about. Most, if not all of these “theories” exist solely on TikTok and if you were to ask the average person on the street what having red nails meant they would probably look at you funny.
At the end of the day, get your nails done in whatever color you want. Something as trivial as what color polish you put on your fingers doesn’t have to have some grander meaning. But of course, if you want to send signals to those in the know, go right ahead.
In the time where everything has to have a deeper meaning and where you have to define everything you do in a single aesthetic; women have it hard. So, paint your nails the color you want because you should be painting your nails to satisfy you, not anyone else.