Photo: YouTube
Go, Elliot!
By Nia Tipton — Written on Sep 14, 2021
Elliot Page made his first red carpet debut at the Met Gala since coming out as transgender last year, and his outfit held a hidden meaning that was quite heartwarming.
Wearing a Balenciaga tuxedo, Page pinned a green flower to the front of his Met look.
Elliot Page's Met Gala suit had a hidden meaning.
The green carnation has been used as a symbol to represent queer love, and was first popularized by British poet, Oscar Wilde in the 1890s.
Oscar Wilde had one of the actors in his play, "Lady Windermere’s Fan", wear a green carnation on opening night and told a dozen of his young followers to wear them as well.
The green carnation flower eventually became a symbol of Wilde and his group.
The green flower on Elliot Page's suit is an LGBTQ symbol.
Although the Irish playwright and poet popularized the green carnation, the flower was also fashionable among people in Paris who identified as gay.
It seems fitting, with the theme of the Met Gala being “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” that Page would include a small symbol of his own American identity, and his comfortability with highlighting his queerness.
It’s even more special for Page to be wearing a green flower as a homage to Oscar Wilde, because even though Wilde was married with two sons, he was also gay–which was illegal in the UK until the 1960s.
Elliot Page first came out as transgender through a letter that was shared on his Twitter account back in December 2020.
“Hi friends, I just wanted to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot,” Page wrote. “I feel lucky to be writing this. To be here. To have arrived at this place in my life.”
Page also opened up to "Time Magazine" about their transition earlier this year. “I felt like a boy. I wanted to be a boy. I would ask my mom if I could be someday.”
Elliot Page brought important trans visibility to the Met Gala.
Trans individuals have to constantly fight to simply be seen and heard. For Elliot Page to attend the Met Gala, with pride for their sexuality is an amazing feat.
The green flower represents queer love, but it also represents that period of time in which Oscar Wilde was unable to live in his own truth.
It’s an amazing sight to see that now, over a century later, Page can attend a high-profile event like the Met Gala living in their own truth.
It’s an endearing thing to understand the history behind a simple accessory, but it’s even more heartwarming to think of how Elliot Page is paving the way for young queer people who are too afraid to embrace all parts of themselves.
Because it’s not only Elliot Page, but also people like Laverene Cox, Janet Mock, and Indya Moore, who are pushing the boundaries of trans representation in the right direction.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.