From My Readings This Week_ This is the first time I heard of this and to me it's interesting reading and information, so I am sharing it with you.
Oscar Wilde’s influence on queer culture extended beyond his literary brilliance, touching even the realm of personal adornment and coded symbolism. In the late 19th century, the green carnation became an emblem of gay identity, a subtle yet powerful way for men to recognize one another in an era when homosexuality was criminalized and societal condemnation was severe.
The association began when Wilde encouraged his circle of friends and admirers to wear green carnations on their lapels. This act was most famously linked to the opening night of his play Lady Windermere’s Fan in 1892, when he reportedly instructed a group of young men, including his close companion Robbie Ross, to wear the flower. Unlike red roses or white carnations, which had clear romantic or traditional meanings, the green carnation was strikingly ambiguous. It carried no obvious significance in mainstream culture, allowing it to serve as an unspoken marker among those who understood its hidden message.
Green, often associated with decadence, aestheticism, and unconventional beauty, aligned with Wilde’s artistic sensibilities and the themes of his work. He played with the idea of artifice and natural beauty in ways that mirrored the coded existence many queer individuals were forced to adopt. The green carnation’s symbolism was further cemented in popular culture with the 1894 novel The Green Carnation by Robert Hichens, a satirical roman à clef widely believed to parody Wilde and his lover Lord Alfred Douglas. The book, while humorous in tone, contributed to Wilde’s growing infamy and heightened public scrutiny of his relationships and lifestyle.
Though Wilde himself never explicitly stated that the green carnation was a symbol of homosexuality, it became closely tied to his legacy and, by extension, the secretive yet thriving queer subculture of the time. For men who sought companionship and solidarity in a society that punished their love, the simple act of wearing a green carnation could be a quiet but courageous declaration of identity.
Wild's _ The Picture of Dorian Gray
Meanwhile, Did you Know that.....
A Filipino student invents solar windows that don't even need the sun to work. AuREUS is a renewable energy system used for windows and walls of buildings. The new material he invented comes from rotting fruits and vegetables. It absorbs UV light from the sun and converts it into electricity.
What makes them special is that unlike regular solar panels, the system works just as well even if the material isn't receiving heat from the sun.
Finally, here's my African Proverb of the Day:
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