Are flowers a feminist issue?

I've bought flowers for a boyfriend before. He liked them and appreciated it.

I think!!!!!

It is conditioning but not one I mind too much - my DDs will pester DH to buy me flowers if they ever go to the supermarket together.

Some of my Dd's little male friends (age 6/7) seem to comment on and like flowers, indoor and out, so the conditioning must start after that!

I buy flowers because I like them. My husband occasionally buys me flowers because he knows I like them. He doesn't particularly like flowers so I buy him chocolates because he likes those.

I think you're over thinking this.

I was just thinking who was the last person I bought flowers for? It was myself and prior to that, it was a male friend who had been in hospital. At the same time, I sent his wife a bottle of wine.

I didn't think I was subverting stereotypes or cultural conditioning. I was just buying gifts that I thought my friends would enjoy.

I don't really like but DH likes them and I buy them for him quite a bit. He likes to spend time in the garden and keeps it and is always buying new plants which flower a lot...

Sorry I think your overthinking it.

Hmmm... I'm a woman and I don't like them (or at least I don't like uprooting them from nature as bundles of flowers which die and have to be binned, it's so wasteful).

My DH is the one who keeps all our pot plants alive so maybe he's more likely than me to appreciate some. Maybe I should try it sometime!

OH and I buy each other flowers at random intervals and have done for years.
I buy flowers for other people occasionally, but I'm more of a plant-giver.
I think it is conditioning, but do you ever buy a man a box of chocolates? That used to be purely female territory as well.

I bought sunflowers for my DH for our anniversary because I know he loves sunflowers. He was v happy.

Hmmmm. I'm erring on the side of conditioning.

I find it a bit annoying to be given flowers because the whole deal with finding the right vase, keeping an eye on them and changing the water etc is a faff which outweighs any enjoyment produced by looking at said flowers.

Also, I feel a bit sad that those flowers have had their lives cut short so that they can sit in a vase in my house. I'd much rather see them in a field or in someone's garden.

It's just one of many hundreds of gender stereotypes: Women like flowers. Women like chocolate but they are always on diets. Women like perfume. Women like shopping. Women enjoy going to the hairdressers and having a manicure...

I am definitely a woman, but none of those statements apply to me. (Oooh, except the chocolate one. I'm never on a diet though).

And Elton John likes flowers apparently so, yeah.

I buy flowers for friends who like flowers whether male or female. I don't buy flowers for people who don't like flowers which in my case is one of my female friends and one of my DSIS. Ditto with candles and chocolates , etc, etc. So, flowers aren't a feminist issue in my experience. HTH