Although the word “pansy” has its origins in the French pensee, meaning “thought,” the word became a slur directed toward gay, effeminate, or gender-nonconforming men. Artist Paul Harfleet’s Pansy Project, which ceremoniously sets pansies into the earth at spots where homophobic abuse has occurred, reckons with both senses of the word. Hardy plants that can bloom through the snow, pansies intrinsically embody the resilience and fortitude at the core of the LGBTQIA+ community.
