Many of them had beautiful memories associated with flowers from their childhood that drew them to certain flowers.
Humans love order to the point of everything needing to be classified, boxed, repeated and reiterated. With centuries of conditioning on what defines a human in terms of gender, stereotypes became a tool for identification and they became so rigid that anything outside of that became a tool to shame those not conforming to those norms. Those who identified as men were told to be brave, to not cry, to not play with dolls, and more. Everything from colors to toys to character traits was clearly demarcated for the supposedly two genders. Flowers are always associated with women. It's always men who buy flowers for women in pop culture. One Tumblr user said men love flowers as well and that he felt very few even get that he could like flowers.
During a class icebreaker, he decided to ask a guy what his favorite flower was. "He looked at me with a huge smile and said sunflowers, and I think we should all just raise awareness that boys like flowers too, he wrote. Picking up on this, one person turned to Twitter, shared this interaction, and asked, "Now, I'm curious! Men, what's your favorite flower?" The tweet led to one of the most wholesome threads with men naming their favorite flowers and many explaining why they were their favorites. Some cited color, shape, memories, nostalgic associations among other things.
Here are some of the top replies we came across:
If Magnolia blooms count than definitely those. Easy. If not. Then probably Azaleas πΊ pic.twitter.com/qXNUSCq07k
β Tom Andrews (@princethomas) March 18, 2022
I wish I could properly express how beautiful this flower is and how great it smells in the evening.
β Moaz Ahmad (@yyzMYA) January 13, 2021
And how happy I am to see ten buds at different stages of flowering.
It's the little things. ππΈπΉπΌπ»πΊπ· pic.twitter.com/ONZrnBrt2f
Snowdrops are my favorite!! They mean so much to me and are in line with my favorite season - winter.
β Svett KUKI SHINOBU STAN ACC (@Svett_O) March 18, 2022
My mom and grandmother know how much they mean to me and always bring me lots every winter π€ pic.twitter.com/STjg5mitFw
One of my earliest memories is my Dad showing me pineapple weed growing around the dry, gravelly side roads of North Delta. To this day I enjoy picking and smelling it in the summer. pic.twitter.com/a86Fr8iUCl
β Stephen Brown (@SpaceBurgrSteve) July 25, 2021
This is grape hyacinth. It grows wild where I live.
β Kenshiro Bones β―οΈ EDM Celestial (@kenshirobones) August 21, 2021
Grape hyacinth is one of the only flowers to produce a true blue hue, and it's by far the lowest-maintenance. (It grows wild with no intervention.)
Grape hyacinth smells like floral candy.
This is something I love. π pic.twitter.com/6O6fs2CiBf
The red jambo flower , specifically when it makes a huge area all red π₯° https://t.co/NIMx9GErDu pic.twitter.com/cR7A40gn6x
β Romeu Moura (@malk_zameth) March 20, 2022
I bought flowers for myself. ππ·πΌπΉ pic.twitter.com/yLURyK0hTR
β β«οΈAlfred Chow - Maker of Things (@Maker_of_Things) June 8, 2020
Snapdragons! So many flowers per stem! pic.twitter.com/31EXyG7spe
β Teacher McTeacherface (@hellomotorbike) March 21, 2022
I like Orchids they are very intricate theres almost a strength about them. pic.twitter.com/sgf7sBdu3T
β Andre Son of Mogh ππ½ βπ½ BLM (@HausOfMogh) March 18, 2022
The sunflower. My younger brother would grow them in the backyard and just delight in how tall they'd get! When he passed, I tried to carry the same tradition. I can't grow them at my apartment, but every time I see one, I think of him and smile. pic.twitter.com/w1JSJ0BYNT
β Higgybaby (@Kisaoda) March 18, 2022
Probably buddleia bc they get huge and look like fireworks pic.twitter.com/xjaHKRiPpk
β Tom Sawyer last summer, and knows what you did (@TomEastcould) March 19, 2022
Black eyed susans and this purple flowering weed that grew on the grave of a dog i had when i was a kid. Dunno the real name but i call it mistys flower after the dog pic.twitter.com/uYnCC4FCFM
β Darkslifer27 (@Darkslifer27) March 18, 2022
Daisy i hope when I pull the petals it lands on she loves me instead of love me not pic.twitter.com/wnbvIFLOIM
β Paul (@middleson22) March 19, 2022
Orange Blossom. One of my earliest memories was receiving a fresh crate of oranges on my birthday. I grew up in an orphanage. When you have nothing, any small gift is the best thing in the world pic.twitter.com/L3uIpF8QZh
β Russky_Pivo (@RusskyPivo) March 19, 2022
Daffodils and lilacs. Daffodils bc they remind me of my grandmother. She planted some on my parents' farm 40 years ago and they are still thriving. Lilacs bc we had several bushes on the farm when I was little and they remind me of the thoughtless joy of childhood summers. pic.twitter.com/nbhioHO8K7
β Doug 'Ash Wednesday is a goth holiday' James (@piratefalcon325) March 18, 2022
Every August their is a stunning bloom of multiple varieties and colours of dahlias in Dublin's Botanic Gardens. Never fails to stop me in my tracks. Nature at its most mesmerising and mathematical. pic.twitter.com/ecKxhwDQ7s
β Simon Judge (@simonjuj) March 19, 2022
There was a Passion flower vine growing over a fence on my walk home from school. I thought it was from another planet. pic.twitter.com/WaZGKzuT8o
β Dustin Driver (@dustin_driver) March 19, 2022
For me it has to be hyacinths first plant I ever grew now I grow all sorts of bedding plants and succulents every year pic.twitter.com/R5NWgedM3S
β Alex (@Gregz_96) March 19, 2022
Himalayan blue poppy. Blue is one of the rarest naturally occurring colours in nature and they're such a small, sweet, and simple flower. pic.twitter.com/fe7sX7pGFs
β Kevin "A Win is a Win" Weir (@StrawmanKWeir) March 19, 2022
I gasped so hard when i saw one the first time, we only have red where I'm from! We have California orange too :) pic.twitter.com/hrAkBNOpY6
β Sie (@sieminglyy) March 20, 2022
I like sunflowers and gerbera daisies, and roses. I actually take pictures of flowers all the time. π₯Ί pic.twitter.com/qBJ35fR8WE
β lord evan austin, author (@evanaustinauthr) March 19, 2022
When a Reddit user asked, "Men of Reddit, how would you feel about receiving flowers from a woman?" many responded. "My girlfriend got me flowers for valentines day once. Cutest shit ever. I put those bad boys in a vase and they lasted a little longer than a week," wrote one user. Another added, "Would absolutely love it. The surprise would be fantastic, as no one's ever bought me flowers. Damnit now I'm just sitting here wondering why no one's ever bought me flowers."