Flower Power: Flower Symbolism in LGBTQ+ History
Emily Ellis
Throughout the sunny, vibrant month of June, rainbows brighten many windows, lawns, and streets. The rainbow symbol, first designed as a flag by artist and activist Gilbert Baker in the 1970s, has become perhaps the most recognizable representation of LGBTQ+ pride and Pride Month over the decades - and is just one of many LGBTQ+ symbols with a rich and fascinating history.
As diverse, colorful, and beautiful as a rainbow, flowers have had special meaning in LGBTQ+ communities dating as far back as the sixth century. Certain species were used to communicate in coded language when people were unable to be open about their identities for fear of persecution, or to represent love, beauty, and loss. Even though some floral words were tossed around as homophobic or transphobic slurs (such as “pansy,” ) many activists and artists have since taken ownership of such terms and changed the derogatory meanings.
While Pride events and celebrations take place throughout June, many are held during the last week of the month in commemoration of the Stonewall Riots, a historic uprising that followed the discriminatory June 28th police raid of the Stonewall Inn in New York City and is widely considered a catalyst for the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. To celebrate Pride and see out the month of June, we’re exploring several powerful flowers in LGBTQ+ history. Scroll down to learn more.
Green carnations
Photo credit: Rebecca via Wikimedia Commons
On opening night of his play “Lady Windmere’s Fan” in 1892, Irish author Oscar Wilde instructed one of the actors and several of his friends to wear green carnations on their lapels, and a new symbol was born.
When asked what the flower meant, Wilde replied with characteristic wit, “Nothing whatever, but that is just what nobody will guess.” Later scholars have theorized that wearing an “unnatural” green flower may have been humorist’s way of mocking the idea that love between two men was also seen as unnatural; some gay men in the Victorian era may have worn the flower as a subtle way of identifying each other. The carnation made headlines again when then-scandalous novel titled The Green Carnation, with characters based on Wilde and his lover, was anonymously published in 1894; the book was later used against Wilde in his much-publicized gross indecency trials.
Although some may have viewed green carnations as “unnatural,” there are quite a few green flowers in nature, including chrysanthemums and dahlias. Bunny Mellon herself was quite fond of them, and in one of her journals, she described a green bloom as a “A mystery like true love that wants to hide but is betrayed by its own joy” - a fitting description for flowers whose meaning has been so mysterious and intertwined with love.
Violets (and Lavender)
Photo by Sarah Causey
Violets have been associated with lesbian love since the 6th century, thanks to the work of the greek poet Saphho, from the isle of Lesbos. Much of her poetry centered around the relationships and love between women, who she often described as wearing garlands of the flowers and other plants.
Violets as a symbol of lesbian love rose again in 1926, when Édouard Bourdet’s play The Captive showed a female character sending another woman a violet bouquet. When the play led to an uproar and calls for boycott and censorship, some women wore violets to showings as a sign of support. The color of violets (and fellow purple-hued flowering plant, lavender) was also used as a derogatory way to describe gay or effeminate men in the turn of the 20th century: historian Carl Sandburg, for instance, wrote that Abraham Lincoln had “a streak of lavender” and “spots soft as May violets.”
Although the symbolism of the actual flowers faded with time, the pale purple color would come to represent LGBTQ+ empowerment in later years. In the 1960s and 70s, demonstrators and activists wore lavender during events that included a march to commemorate the Stonewall Riots; decades later after the 2016 presidential election, Gilbert Baker reworked his rainbow flag design to include a lavender stripe so that the flag would have “another color to represent diversity in the age of Trump.”
Pansies
Have you ever heard someone call someone else a “pansy” in an effort to insult their strength or masculinity? It’s a ridiculous and dated slur that reveals the ignorance of the name-caller (and not just because, botanically speaking, pansies are quite hardy and resilient), and one with a long history in the U.S.
In the early 1900s, “pansy” - along with “buttercup,” “daisy,” and even “horticultural lad” - were used as terms for a gay man, or any man exhibiting characteristics the name-caller considered unmanly. “Pansy” was the flower that would remain associated with the gay community, however, largely due to the underground drag balls that experienced a surge of popularity in Los Angeles, New York, and other major cities in the 1920s-1930s. Drag performers were called “pansy performers” because of their colorful clothing, and the “Pansy Craze” of the era helped to kickstart a legacy of gay nightlife, even though the end of prohibition led to many drag balls and performances being shut down.
Today, LGBTQ+ activists are working to turn the derogatory meaning of “pansy” around. Among them is artist-activist Paul Harfleet, the founder of the “The Pansy Project”. Harfleet and his collaborators have spent years planting single pansies at the site of transphobic or homophobic abuse, as a way to symbolize hope against discrimination. Harfleet said of pansies: “Not only does the word refer to an effeminate or gay man: The name of the flower originates from the French verb; penser (to think), as the bowing head of the flower was seen to visually echo a person in deep thought.” You can learn more about participating in the Pansy Project and other forms of guerilla gardening here.
Roses
Roses are deeply-rooted in human culture, and have long been associated with love and sexuality. Tie-dyed roses are often featured at Pride events, echoing the beauty and diversity represented in the rainbow flag, and lavender-colored roses have been used in weddings and other events and holidays that call for flowers, as they both feature a color symbolic of the LGBTQ+ community and mean “love at first sight.”
Recently, roses have also been used in LGBTQ+ art: The Rose Project is a portrait project started in 2016 by photographer Kristin Cofer as a way to honor “the beautiful trans, gay, queer and non-binary community.” Most of the subjects hold roses - a flower that has continued to represent diversity, beauty, and love.
Cover image: bouquet arranged by Assistant Gardener Jordan Long, using flowers grown in Oak Spring’s formal garden