Plants are sexy… at least that was a big concern of the eighteenth century. That’s when biologists discovered that flowers do not reproduce like the Virgin Mary, but instead involve every moving thing around them in their pollination process. What’s more, plants have so many sex combination and reproduction possibilities that botany was suddenly considered an amoral pursuit for women, since they might get the wrong ideas about monogamy and matrimony. Anxieties around plant sex returned whenever there were new developments regarding human sexuality. When discussions about sexual orientation became increasingly important at the beginning of the twentieth century, schools banned botany instruction, so that children would not find out about bisexual plants and their ability to reproduce with themselves. Of course, all of these fears about what is “natural" were satirized too, in texts about “plant prostitutes,” masturbating roses, and the dangerous allure of flowers. Those are, after all, the genitals of plants—so think about what you’re doing the next time you stick your nose into a blossom. Join us for a 21+ evening with the Tucson Libertine League, featuring plant speed dating and spoken word by Joela Jacobs and Katharina Scheerer. Doors open at 8PM at 191 Toole, and tickets are $12. 20% of the proceeds will go to plant conservation.
This event is taking place in the context of the exhibit Eden? Plants between Science and Fiction.
