Who's to say that floral arrangements are only a gift for women?

Photo by Nick Karvounis on Unsplash

Here are some statistics that might interest you.

A poll was taken for valentine's Day sales, and the results are as follows: 64% percent of men buy flowers, while only 36% percent of women did so.

And even with those numbers, 61% of men of all ages still said that they would love to receive flowers from a woman for Valentine’s Day.

That's right -- over half of all men would love to receive flowers as a gift of affection.

Until recently, I hadn't ever gifted a man flowers... that is until I just flat out asked my husband if he would like receiving them.

Most women in heterosexual partnerships never think to ask.

My birthday was two months ago, and as I walked out of the shower and was greeted by my partner holding a bouquet of white and red roses, wishing me a happy birthday. I wasn't surprised to see this, because he'd bought me flowers every birthday when we started dating.

Most women have received flowers in their lifetime, after all.

At the time, I took them with a big smile, and said,

“Ah! Thank you! Flowers make me feel so special!”

As I was trimming the ends off of the roses, and arranging them in a vase, I asked my husband if he would enjoy receiving flowers. And replied with:

“Yeah, that would actually be great. No one has ever given me flowers before.”

Let’s drop the gender-stereotyped bull, please.

My partner, by first look, isn’t the type you would expect to enjoy receiving a bouquet of roses.

But that just shows you can’t judge a book by its cover, and that there shouldn't even be a gender assigned to the receiving of a natural material.

Under the muscled gym-bro exterior of my husband, there is a die-hard romantic.

Now, I admit that I also fell victim to the gender stereotyping of flower-giving. After all, this was the first time in three years I’ve ever bought my partner flowers.

In fact, it was the first time I’d ever bought any man flowers. Because you don’t buy flowers for dudes, right?

Wrong.

It’s time to change this dialogue to be a little more inclusive.

Final word.

It warmed my heart to watch my husband attentively trim the edges and arrange his bouquet in a vase, taking great care to display them proudly.

Once they were sitting in our living room, he came over and hugged me again.

“I really enjoy being given flowers.”

I squeezed him tighter, “Duly noted, my love.”

A new tradition has been made. And it makes both of us feel equally special. ❤

Are there any men in your life who would enjoy receiving a bouquet of flowers? Have you ever taken the time to ask?

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