After reading FJ's comments on the kinkiness of orchids, I've decided to have an opinion poll. So what I'd like you all to do, is share your views on the following:
To quote FJ: do you think there's something about the shape of orchid flowers
that is somehow more obscene than your regular garden variety daisy? In other words, are orchids obscene, overtly sexual vegetable likenesses of human reproductive anatomy? Luscious pink folds; musky scents; inflated, veined pouches; dripping nectar. Orchids are, as Uncle Monty from Withnail and I would put it "prostitutes for the bees". Is that where a lot of our fascination with them lies? How come orchids seem to be especially popular with 
geriatrics, then? Is an orchid show a venue to show off your 'fertility' well after the battery of your biological clock fell out? Evolutionary speaking, orchids have their origins in the hot, steamy lowlands of South East Asia. This is also where snakes evolved. Both are symbols of sexuality. South East Asia is also a hotspot for sex tourism. Coincidence? The word orchid is derived from the Greek word orchis, meaning testicle. The underground tubers of Orchis were traditionally used as aphrodisiacs and to increase fertility. Is the giving of orchids a more intimate affair than just buying a lover a bunch of carnations? Something more lusty?
yip they are lusty.......it's the combination of beauty and exoticness - they are not the average flower
ReplyDeletei wouldn't consider orchids obscene but i do think they are very sexualised flowers. they somehow seem more...uninhibited than other flowers. they're somehow mysterious too, have an almost forbidden aura, hinting at something without divulging the details. the fact that they're also more rare than other flowers plays a role, as the rose bud is the general masses' accepted female genitalia euphenism, the orchid is for the informed connoisseur. (or i just made up a bunch of bullshit because i'm pretty clueless when it comes to flowers...i do know however that orchids are damn sexy.)
ReplyDeletewould i read something into it if i was given one as a gift? depends who the giver is, i think.
btw - what the hell's with the woman in the mask?
ReplyDeleteis she the poster child for kink? :-)
Orchids look like (a) vaginas, or (b) testicles. Most of them, at least. There's absolutely no doubt about it. It's just the way it is.
ReplyDeletelexi
ReplyDeleteYou can say that again - and the mechanics of lust interest me more than those of romance do.
arcadia
Uninhibited flowers... Cool idea. The shy, nodding buds of bluebells versus pornographically pink exposed lips of the Cattleya labiata (yes, that is it's real name).
Oh, and I tried to find a leather mask to match the shape of the Dendrobium spectabile in the top right corner of the post, that's all. Incidentally, plants of Den. spectabile imported into Hawaii has a tendency to trap native bees that come to pollinate it, because the arrangement of column and lip don't fit the native bee's body shape - thereby killing the bees and preventing the plant from setting seed. Bondage on a whole new level.
karen
How, erm... medical of you. But quite, quite true. You should come and have a look at the Oncidium you gave me - it is looking very splendid indeed.
someone please post something on the mechanics of lust!
ReplyDeleteI only consider an orchid lusty now that I have read "Luscious pink folds; musky scents; inflated, veined pouches; dripping nectar." Hmmm, now I know why you love them so much...
ReplyDeletehow about the idea that you have to trudge through miles of jungle to find a full-blooded orchid on display...
ReplyDeleteor buy your own for a few bucks at the local nursery.
OOh! Ooh! I love love love that mask!
ReplyDeleteYESSSS!
so, with you being the orchid hunter... does that make you perverted in some sort of way?
ReplyDelete"prostitutes for bees"
you've altered my perception..
now i don't know what id think if someone gave me one... or a bunch!
What the hell is up with "/*
ReplyDeleteI think I've been away too long.
Is anyone familiar with Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings? According to many art experts they are the spitting image of unadulterated, lesbian lust... It's all about a certain viewpoint though. Oddly I haven't come accross any orchids in her work.
ReplyDeleteBut thanks for getting the discussion going. Karen doesn't mess around. I think it really may be that simple. But you have to admit that it is strange for plants to flaunt private bits that resemble human sex organs. Being a collector myself, I begin to wonder if my collection may not be some kind of high maintenance, genital shrine.
But I don't really know about that Dendrobium spectabile... If that was attached to me I would have it amputated.