Beautiful! So glad you posted this. I'm not a fan of super-feminine arrangements. These are so gorgeous. I especially love #4.

..."a straight male roommate" vs what, some stereotypical gay male with only feminine taste?

Thanks for including bright designlab x3! :-)

Gorgeous arrangements (especially the first one!) but the idea that the wrong choice of flowers could make a room "too feminine" rankles me.

If a straight male's sexuality is challenged by a vase full of roses, or peonies, I think it's safe to say that he has issues to deal with.

Man, there are plenty of people out there who will think it's "girly" to bring in anything green, no matter if it's an unconventional plant or not. Just buy what you like.

I think androgenous is a ridiculous description here, sorry. Gender is definitely not the make-it or break-it quality of the arrangements above. "Scuptural," perhaps? I'm most decidedly a hetero feminine female (if you really want to desconstruct gender orientation vs gender role vs biology), and I'm just not big into frilly fussy fluffy arrangements.

What is it about flowers, or traditional arragements, that makes us think "feminine"? Flowers are, of course, the source of seed production and are biologically female. And there are a wealth of pscyho-social arguments, no doubt, that rationalize flowers and all thing floral as the domain of the female.

But not all botanical traditions are associated with femininity. Certainly species collectors in the Victorian era were often men, and they were clearly interested in both foliage and flower, as well as seed and root.

Might we also consider traditions like "Ikebana" that consider all parts of the plant and emphasizes shape, line, form, not just color and texture.

Shape, line, and form are definitely stand out in the photos.

It's kind of a weird statement to make...I mean, I'll concede that my husband doesn't know his poenies from his posies, but I put together a tall display of romantic white hydrangea and roses last week and he said it looked nice. Was it girly? Yep. Did it infringe upon his sense of masculinity? Not at all. We like what we like - gender has nothing to do with a good eye.

I agree with the post-ers here. The arrangements are gorgeous in their own light, regardless of the author's comment on sexuality/sexual orientation. That never should have entered the discussion. Why do peonies have to equate femininity - why can't they just represent beauty, just as the succulents represent beauty?

Let's set aside uninformed terminology and assumptions for a moment...

Almost everything can be classified as masculine or feminine in style. I suppose we could say some plants are inherently more masculine or feminine. But since you’re talking about arrangements, I would say this is mainly a question of display and context.

Regarding display, the vase/vessel will set the tone. Interestingly, I think #2 (left) is very feminine, and it does not even have flowers. Why? The glass vase is feminine and informs the entire arrangement.

And… speaking of masculine / feminine vases, maybe you could get something like this for your roommate:

http://www.vu.union.edu/~losurem/sl/pictures/cactusPenis.jpg

Seriously?

@urbancricket

Flowers are hermaphrodites, really....

This is no less annoying than the series targeting the supposed male AT audience (that seems to have been phased out?) but it's not like it isn't a good post for ppl who enjoy arrangements that give off this kind of effect.

I love flowers and all sorts of floral arrangements, including those that incorporate the less traditional choices (limes, miniature kales, twigs of various kinds, etc.) - but I struggle to understand what kinds of bouquets are supposed to be too ''feminine".
Having said that, I would say that out of those featured, #3 (the red roses, orchid, lime, eucalyptus) looks quite feminine (although I would not know how to define it if push came to shove).
What matters to me is the form, how the flowers add to the room, or the arrangements somehow stands out (perhaps due to unusual components) but I would never think of them as feminine or masculine.

Who has the gender issues, you or the roommate? It's not the flowers, that's for certain.

I love these arrangements. Could I be gay? ;)
Really, they are lovely. Great structure and unusual color schemes. Would love to try some of these ideas. How about a tutorial on how to construct some? Like form, line, and accent (as in the tradition of ikebana) for beginners?

Some people have too many hang ups.
If flowers are going to topple your sense of yourself, perhaps you've got problems a bunch of pansies wont help...

Stereotypes are awesome.

Ridiculous post. I don't mean to be nasty, but this is just stupid and ugly. Flowers are feminine? And so are gay men, so flowers are okay with them? Yikes.

BTW, as I was writing this comment, my (straight) boyfriend came in the room. I read him the first line of the post. His response? "Oh, f*** off!"

It's not that there's anything that doesn't ring true in the opening paragraph, Jose; it's just that you're not supposed acknowledge that there are any typical differences between the sexes or sexuality. Ever. Even if you unwittingly stumble upon a genuine real-life instance, in the form of your straight male pink rose-hating room mate. Got that?

(For someone so opposed to stereotyping, TheoJ, you're doing a pretty good job yourself, with the "straight girl" assumption. Not finding fault with the assumption so much as the hypocrisy it reveals in your larger argument.)

It's weird to give ANY kind of floral arrangement to a dude....Arrangements are not for a guy unless he is dead ('cause he can't complaint). Even if, (since there came the topic up) being gay.... if a guy likes arrangements he'll provide himself and have a rather clear idea for purpose or placement... It'll be rather strange to have an arrangement just for "pretty".

If a guy (i mean straight, basically) likes flowers (and i know a lot of them!), he'll surely be growing his own. I'm into orchids and most of the people that grow orchids that i know are grown straight married men. There is something about the technical or rareness part of it that make men go nuts over live plants rather than cut flowers.

I'm happy everyone else said what I was thinking... let's keep the stereotypes at bay

Not one of these arrangements are getting near my husbands "man room" except maybe the bouquet of hydrangeas, and that's just because it reminds him of our wedding. He's nostalgic yes, but still not going for flowers in his poker room, AND if I did show up with pink peonies, he'd be all "hell no" so let the stereotypes continue.

Wow. My dad loves flowers and always brought fresh flowers home from the wholesale market where he worked. My husband loves them too, and we both think that fresh flowers add a lot to a room. What next... men hate trees?

It's surprising how tone deaf At continues to be when it comes to gender, sex, and sexual orientation and design or decor.

As Arroyo points out, most styles can be classified as "masculine" or "feminine"--but that is a description of the form itself, not a rule for which sex or gender human will prefer it. We might agree that a bunch of pink peonies in a crystal vase with a white bow is a feminine arrangement, but that doesn't mean it is an arrangement for females, and it certainly doesn't mean it appeals to people of a particular sexual orientation.

I agree that ruffles and pink are feminine. But I am a woman and I sure don't want to decorate in pink and ruffles. And my husband is a man but he definitely doesn't want our home decorated in plaid and mallards and beer signs.

It's the completely unnecessary editorializing that implies heteronormativity (flowers are for girls and gays! basement bars and pool tables are for straight boys!) that many of us find silly at best and offensive at worst.

Whoops! AT, not "At"

P.S. My husband adores flowers even more than me. Every chance I get, I send him roses or gerberas or callas or lillies from organic bouquet. And he's one hellofa manly man. Just sayin'.

If the guys don't like the flower arrangements because they're too 'feminine', too bad for them.

How utterly pretentious and childlike. My girlfriend enjoys this type of arrangement more while I go for what you'd probably consider effeminate fruity bunches. -a dude