The gay flower
It was 5 AM on a Sunday and I was up early, preparing myself for what would be one of the most unconventional days of my life. I started my morning by sipping a cup of tea while applying makeup, multitasking between the warmth of the tea and the cool stroke of primer and moisturizer. My partner and child were still deep in sleep, their rhythmic breathing calming my nerves as I painted my face. Normally, drag makeup is a process done later in the time or evening, when the nature is awake and bustling. But here I was, transforming myself at an ungodly hour, layering foundation, contour, lenses, and lashes. It felt as unnatural as eating Hyderabadi biryani for breakfast, yet there was something exhilarating about it.
I’d never stepped out of my home in entire drag before. Hyderabad, despite its progress in many areas, remains conservative when it comes to accepting identities like mine. Performative queens don’t always feel guarded in this city, and stepping out in public in entire glam was a risk. But I was willing to seize it for this shoot. I had watched enough Bollywood movies to know that a great pair
Queer Flowers
Roses are red
Violets are blue
They're also for lesbians
And lilies are too.note Top: Lily Love. Bottom: Maiden Rose
&#;Gayle, Gayle
Flowers signifying sexual orientation is an addition of flowers signifying love, as the practice sprouts from Flowers of Intimacy and other floral symbolism. The most notable flowers signifying homosexuality are violets for lesbians and lavender for homosexuality in general.
This convention has its origins in the work of the Greek poet Sappho, widely considered the most famous historical lesbian, her identify and homeland giving us the terms sapphic and lesbian.
Generally speaking, colors in the West that have long been symbols of decadence have been co-opted by historical homosexuals to express their sexuality.
This trope may be expressed through potential lovers giving actual flowers to their significant other, but it can also be symbolic. That is, a character could be (1) nicknamed Violet or Lily (or variants such as Viola or Li
Flower power and LGBT+ history
Throughout time, it’s easy to trace how flowers have taken on symbolic meaning for diverse cultures, religions and social groups.
The ancient Greeks related roses with Aphrodite, the goddess of love, while the ancient Egyptians believed that the lotus represented rebirth and creation.
The Victorians were particularly prolific with the meanings they assigned to flowers, developing an entire language – ‘floriography’ – which they used to communicate with each other. Giving someone a bouquet of flowers could convey all sorts of meanings depending on the specific flowers chosen, from love and devotion to remembrance and forgiveness. Some even had negative connotations – yellow carnations, for example, represented rejection and disappointment.
Across the Royal Parks you'll find many unlike flower colours, with our talented team growing half a million plants each year in the Hyde Park super nursery. Most of the Royal Parks have two displays each year - in spring and summer - with the colour and greenery in the flower beds being designed
We value plants for a number of reasons; their scientific intrigue, artistic inspiration and sheer beauty.
But plants are also rich in symbolism.
Flowers have come to represent everything from the language of love to subtle political statements.
So, it’s no surprise that they have become icons of the queer community – linked to gay and lesbian love, as adequately as celebrating transgender identity.
As part of Kew’s Homosexual Nature festival, discover some of the floral iconography that has been embraced by the LGBTQ+ community.
Violets
Possibly one of the oldest lgbtq+ symbols, violets have been linked to lesbian affectionate for over two and a half thousand years – as long as the very origins of the word.
The poet Sappho lived on the Greek island of Lesbos in the 6th century BCE and is celebrated as one of the greatest lyric poets of her time. While very petty of her poetry has survived to the new day, the fragments that remain have had an unquestionable impact on the lesbian community.
Much of her surviving work contains mentions of garlands of flowers, including violets as