# A love of flowers is gay? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 22, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012 "2005-05-22T23:54:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/21 "2005-05-23T12:51:12Z")
Flowers are porn. I’ve never considered a sig line, but that might make me change my mind. It works on so many levels. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/22 "2005-05-23T13:02:33Z")
Spring flower fan here–I blow money on tulip/daffodils/crocus/germaniums/pots/hangers like some guys blow it on SuperBowl parties (which I might attend if I get to do the cooking, but never will host) and NASCAR widgets. And uh…not gay. Not that there’s anything _wrong_ with that. If flowers are porn (priceless observation, by the way) then I’m one hell of a pervert. I dig the colors, the texture of the petals, the way the morning sun filters through the jungle of greens, reds & purples hanging out on the patio, the thrill of making life happen in a way that doesn’t involve buying diapers & staying up late at night… Plus, there’s this: > [@](#): > > A man who likes flowers? Now, that’s hot! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/23 "2005-05-23T13:05:29Z")
Huh…I guess my dad’s gayer than gay then! He LUUUUURVES his flowers - he’s very into landscaping, and his new flowers are always the first thing he shows me when I come home for a visit. When I can’t think of a gift for him, gift certificates to a local nursery or some new and interesting plant are always good fallbacks. Granted, he SHOULD be proud of his flowers - he puts a lot of work into the yard to make it look nice. However, he’s hardly gay, unless he and my mom have been living a lie for 37 years. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/24 "2005-05-23T13:38:29Z")
Flowers?? That’s nothing. I know that one of our gay Dopers once posted that his mother had always guessed his orientation because _he loved books and reading!_. Whenever I see a thread on this topic, I remember that, and every time I do so, I’m speechless. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/25 "2005-05-23T13:43:58Z")
Ben is gay? OH SHIT! Wait until I tell his wife, 11 children and 20-some grandchildren (they’ve been known to be missing a kid or two and not notice). Mind you, I’ve been informed several times that I’m a lesbian because I like candles. Apparently my sister in law (married to my bro and currently expecting) is a lesbian too, since candles is one of the few things us two have in common. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/26 "2005-05-23T13:47:03Z")
The only two guys in my neighborhood who are really into gardening are both gay. Well, one of them moved out. Maybe she’s from my neighborhood and was just making an informed (from her point of view) supposition. Of course, the next guy into his landscaping is probably me, and the biggest landscaper of all (now moved out) was a full on Butch Lesbian, so I don’t really know what to conclude. Still, I don’t think it was completely far-fetched for her to think you were gay if she thought you weren’t married and were really into flowers. She probably meets a lot more guys into flowers than you do. If you told me you were a librarian and somehow I had to place a bet on your sexual preference, I’d go with gay, too. I bet all of you from your Sociology 101 classes know better than a guy who worked in a library for 3 years, though. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/27 "2005-05-23T13:51:31Z")
Umm… have I been whooshed? gravitycrash\*\* is obviously gay. Noone but gay people like flowers. [(cite)](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=317758) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/28 "2005-05-23T16:05:39Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > If you told me you were a librarian and somehow I had to place a bet on your sexual preference, I’d go with gay, too. I bet all of you from your Sociology 101 classes know better than a guy who worked in a library for 3 years, though. And all of us who went to library school and have friends in the field know better than you, Jack. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/29 "2005-05-23T16:23:40Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > If you told me you were a librarian and somehow I had to place a bet on your sexual preference, I’d go with gay, too. I bet all of you from your Sociology 101 classes know better than a guy who worked in a library for 3 years, though. Very funny. I’m a male librarian, who’s been working in and around libraries for about 30 years. From my observation, the gay/straight ratio among librarians is pretty similar to that in the general population, and I can’t think of any reason why it might be different. After all, [Casanova was a librarian](http://www.radio.cz/en/article/65962), and no one accuses him of being gay. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/30 "2005-05-23T16:45:34Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > Very funny. I’m a male librarian, who’s been working in and around libraries for about 30 years. From my observation, the gay/straight ratio among librarians is pretty similar to that in the general population, and I can’t think of any reason why it might be different. After all, [Casanova was a librarian](http://www.radio.cz/en/article/65962), and no one accuses him of being gay. My “bet” might not be wise. It’s probably not better than 50/50 but my observations, it’s not even close to the general pop, and I live in an area that has more gay folks than most. Still, librarians aside, are people really going to dispute here that certain professions are filled with more gay men than society at large, or that gay people might be overrepresented in some hobbies (flower arranging for one) while we all still accept that anyone can still do those hobbies without being gay? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/31 "2005-05-23T17:02:11Z")
How about liking show tunes? ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/32 "2005-05-23T17:05:33Z")
My late uncle Ron moved from Canada to England to marry his childhood sweetheart, and spent the rest of his life as a renowned horticulturist. He was famous for his hybrids of flowers, which produced colors not normally found in certain types. The Queen liked his flowers. Was he gay? Nope. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/33 "2005-05-23T17:09:53Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Still, librarians aside, are people really going to dispute here that certain professions are filled with more gay men than society at large, or that gay people might be overrepresented in some hobbies (flower arranging for one) while we all still accept that anyone can still do those hobbies without being gay? I’ll grant you that fellatio as a hobby is probably more popular among gay men than straight men. …but that’s about all you’ll get from me without some hard data to back up your claims. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/34 "2005-05-23T17:46:40Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I’ll grant you that fellatio as a hobby is probably more popular among gay men than straight men. > > …but that’s about all you’ll get from me without some hard data to back up your claims. You mean stuff like [this](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9251839)? I’m sure it’s not true for interior designers and flower arrangers though. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/35 "2005-05-23T17:55:55Z")
Dude, I’m confused–first she assumed that your _wife_ had chosen the flowers . . . and then, not two breaths later, she said she thought you were gay? Huh. You must give the outward impression of having a very complicated existence. 😉 Either that or she was fishing for information because she has the hots for you. So, unless you actually are gay, or confessed to such just to mess with her, she now knows that you’re unmarried and ungay. Man, it’s open season on you at the flower shop. 😉 Next time I bet she _does_ reach down your pants. (I mean, why not, she’s already taken quite a few surprising liberties . . . ) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/36 "2005-05-23T18:17:01Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > If I wasn’t the shy type, I would have replied, “Well, how about I buy you dinner tonight and let me get the chance to prove to you that I’m not?”. 😛 Or if you were _really_ not shy you coulda said, “Howsabout I take you out to the potting shed and show you I’m not.”. Count me in as a hetero male gardener. ---
**Author:** ![Poonther](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Poonther](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poonther)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/37 "2005-05-23T20:34:15Z")
Wow, I can’t believe they let an outspoken naive idiot like this work the register at the local nursery. She must be the type that mentally assigns gender to all task. I bet she nearly wrecks her car (if an idiot like that can drive) when she drives past a construction zone and sees a woman on a bulldozer. “Damn would you look at that, there’s a WOMAN driving that machinery…damn.” She’s an idiot! Don’t give it a second though just because she’s not evolved and joined us in this century yet. Out of curiosity, was it a big box chain nursery or your locally owned nursery? ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/38 "2005-05-23T21:01:00Z")
> [@Poonther](#): > > …She’s an idiot! Don’t give it a second though just because she’s not evolved and joined us in this century yet… And if that doesn’t work, hit her upside the head with your clutch bag ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/39 "2005-05-23T21:03:56Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > You mean stuff like [this](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9251839)? Well, no not like that. That’s horrible methodology, and relies on exactly the same “Well, I’m a [fill-in-the-blank] and I think about half my collegues are gay!” reporting as we’ll find here on the message board. It’s not even that half of the respondents self-identified as gay, they identified “other dancers” as gay. What does that tell us? Nothing other than the stereotype (whether it’s true or not) of male dancers being gay is also accepted among dancers. Not to mention that it was a survey of only 136 dancers - hardly a significant sample size. Hard data would be a statistically significant and representative sample of a profession or hobby self-identifying as gay when questioned in a bias-free manner. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012/40 "2005-05-23T21:13:54Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > How can loving female sex organs be gay? What if you’re a woman? DUH! 😉 > [@Giles](#): > > After all, [Casanova was a librarian](http://www.radio.cz/en/article/65962), and no one accuses him of being gay. His womanizing was merely an attempt to suppress his deep-seated, unacknowledged attraction towards men. Isn’t that _obvious_? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-of-flowers-is-gay/305012.md?page=3)