Apparently, banana bread is the male equivalent of flowers

It may be a cliché, but coming up with gift ideas for the men in your life can be a challenge.

Whatever the occasion, or simply just because, a bunch of flowers is always a safe bet when giving gifts to the women in your life. It then begs the question: What is the male equivalent? A quick search throws up a few obvious, if gender stereotypical, suggestions: a case of beer, for example, and a good sandwich.

But recently, a rather unexpected answer has been circulating on social media, receiving the men’s stamp of approval in the comments: banana bread.

The idea is supposedly traced back to a single comment on a TikTok post posing the age-old question that has confounded romantic partners for decades.

But in a case of groupthink, or because men really do love banana bread, the men in the comments unanimously agreed: Banana bread is men’s flowers.

The news soon made its way to other social media platforms. “Recently learned the male equivalent of buying women flowers is making men banana bread. Huge discovery for women everywhere,” one user posted on X. “Banana bread is their Pumpkin Spice Latte,” another user replied.

It has since started a trend of creators baking banana bread for their partners, sparking a fresh wave of banana bread recipe videos, the likes of which haven’t been seen since the banana bread boom of 2020.

It makes sense; after all, who doesn’t love banana bread? Baking a loaf checks the box of acts of service from the five love languages, with the thoughtful effort and warm comfort of home baking a foolproof way to show someone you care.

Some say that is exactly what baking banana bread means. Others, however, claim it is not the equivalent of buying a bunch of flowers. “Making banana bread can literally take hours,” one TikTok creator explained. “Buying flowers takes no effort or thought.”

If you don’t feel like baking, don’t fret. Contrary to popular belief, the viral discussion has many men revealing that they do, in fact, enjoy receiving flowers. According to one widely referenced statistic, 88% of men have never been given flowers. And of those who do, they will not receive them until their funeral.

Next time, just get your man some flowers.