Pansy

Pansy is a term historically used as a slur to mock gay or effeminate men, drawing on the flower's associations with softness and delicacy. Slang dictionaries date this use to the 1920s, when flower names like pansy, daisy, and buttercup were commonly applied to gender-nonconforming men. The word also names the Pansy Craze, a period from the late 1920s to the late 1930s when openly effeminate gay performers found a brief window of visibility in American nightlife and entertainment, especially in cities like New York. Like many such words, pansy has been partly reclaimed by some people with camp humor and pride, while its use by outsiders to demean remains offensive. The term reflects a long history of weaponizing femininity against gay men.