In the 19th Century, both in England and in France, floral metaphors for women’s genitals started to, well, blossom. In Manet’s Olympia, one of the signal paintings of the nineteenth century, the titular prostitute covers her genitals with her left hand. But she has a pink camellia in her hair – a stand-in for her covered sex – and indeed her servant comes in from the side of the composition bearing a bouquet of flowers.The bouquet is a gift from a client, in one sense, but not only that: the flowers indicate that this woman is on the market.
The analogy is a wide one: in Japan geishas worked in hanamachi, or ‘flower towns’, while in China brothels were euphemistically referred to as the ‘flower market’.
And flowers could signal sexual availability not only for women but for men. The British interwar painter Glyn Philpot, in his Après-midi tunisien, depicts an older, bearded man in the Maghreb, lounging with a boy on a recessed bench. You could almost believe the two were equals – until you see that the younger gent has got a carnation behind his ear, and the elder is toying with the same flower in his hands.
You go girl!!! That is a wonderful post! I’ve got something for you!
*texokie goes to the Qanteen Qloset and finds a box of lightbulbs, some pipe cleaners, three shovels, a backpack, a package of construction paper, poster board and markers.... piles them on the Qanteen Qouch, ignores a muffled sound coming from behind the stack of items she placed there, continues rummaging with FReeQs hearing very strange bumping and rattling noises, and occasional yelps...*
SO THAT’S WHERE THAT WENT!!
*texokie tosses out a bacon press and large frying pan, barely missing bagster’s head as he wends his way to the Oracle office*
SORRY BAGGIE!
*texokie takes the bacon press and frying pan into the Qanteen Qitchen, and then continues her rummaging, and finally emerges with a fishing pole-looking thing with tangled up line... with something peculiar and somewhat unsavory attached to it. She untangles the line, puts up the box of lightbulbs, the pipe cleaners, three shovels, a backpack, a package of construction paper, poster board and markers. Cats PJs has noticed and is sitting up beside the baby grand with feline Hunter’s Eyes tracking texokie and the fishing pole.*
HERE CATS PJS!
*texokie holds out the fishing pole over Cats PJs’ head, and it becomes clear that the thing on the end is a feathered ball with a bell. Cats goes into kitty raptures and chases it with almost as much gusto and hysterically joyful mindlessness as a red laser light, around the Qanteen. texokie only pauses after stubbing her toe on the large trowel belonging to TXnMA. After nursing her toe for a moment, the chase continues.*
GOOD KITTY!!!
*For some reason ransomnote, the Mother of Dragons, is collapsed on the Qanteen Qouch, laughing at them, having dodged being buried by the contents of the Qloset, but texokie doesn’t worry about that - however, maybe she should*
