Catalogue  of Tender Militancy:

Defence against emotional violence is taught through relying on extrovert supremacy strategies or the setting of boundaries that will not be respected. 

The plant kingdom has dedicated itself to creating tools to enforce and demand boundaries with predators that do not listen. It proposes responses ranging from thorns to spikes to fine hairs, chemical and visual signaling; not a one size fits all solution, but one catered to the environment, seasonality and relations specific to each plant. By using pain, discomfort and inconvenience their defensive physiology the attacker learns how to act in ways that respect the plant to redistribute the cargo of care. 

A battle strategy that can resist the ridgidity of the patriarchy has to be flexible, to adapt and evolve. In other words: it should be alive.

Legend of Tenderly Militant Attitudes
When talking about reinterpretations of militancy it is important to aknowledge the realities that weapons and militancy are often used to enforce systemic oppresions, and is in no way supported in this project. This manifesto is a counter approach, that seeks to desterilise the narrow ideas of weaponry, so that grassroot movements are not confined entirely to passifist methods. This manifesto centers the need for action, the need to see strength in softness, and to actively and critically reflect on the right to defend ourselves. The push here is for an offensive defence strategy that does not seek to develop militancy in order to trump over and abuse others, but to actively respond. It does not call for fighting fire with fire, but for unlearning the cycles of harm, and shifting softness and solidarity into a potent and powerful view, so that it can be our strength and their undoing. 
The following legend reinterprets how terms often used in the lexical field of militancy can be redefined and shifted to give us agency in this movement through language. 
WEAPON
a tool to level power hirachies

an extension to the body that enables the user to stay soft because it embodies qualities that allow the user to assert themselves in harsher contexts  

my teammate 

 PAINindicator of boundaries 


DEVIANT        straying from expected functions, intentions or norms 

TENDER MILITANCY        the radical defence that makes space for an offensive defence strategy, aknowledging that caring includes the active protection of softness. However, rather than retaliating through the same militant approaches of tthe agressor, tender militancy draws its strength from its softness, and breaks the cycle of violence.
FRANKENSTEIN PHYSIOLOGY        the rejection of one body or form as the solution. By combining otherwise contradicting qualities, this approach values the potential of chaos, and the possibility that when tender qualities together, they may have the strength to resist and level up to their monstrous contexts.



This glossary is non-exhaustive and will continue to grow.

Armoury of the Plant Kingdom


Contrary to what society would like us to think, plants are not submissive beings; they have a plethora of ways of defending themselves. Creating power hirachies between the human and plants serves those in power that need an ideological backing that makes it acceptable to exploit and abuse beings seen as lesser than the elevated human. Who has been included in this definition has historically always shifted to best suit the narrative of those in power. It is important we see classifications not as categories to confine others and ourselves into, but to understand them as systems of similarities that are a jumping off point for understanding our umwelt. By removing this boundary in thinking,  we allow ourselves to see similarities in the other, and make reinterpretations of how their problemsolving approaches could help us solve problems our cultural education has prevented us from making. 

pedagogy of pain
soft direction
hosting backup
cargo of care
connected by distance
GLOSSARY OF 
MILITANT PHYSIOLOGY
 

The defence mechanisms of plants can be classified into two categories:

CONSTITUTIVE: always present
INDUCED: present through activation 


They can further be classied into three main archetypes:
Morphological, Chemical and Mechanial.


Biological Legend
1 MORPHOLOGICAL  (deter, injure, kill)
a) spines: reduce feeding through pain or inconvenience
b) prickles: reduce feeding through pain or inconvenience
c) thorns: reduce feeding through pain or inconvenience
d) trichomes: barbs containing irritants/ poisions 
e) Raphides (sharp needles): reduce feeding through pain and                      effectively deliver plant toxins 
f)  hair: reduce feeding though inconveience
g) compound secretion eg. resins, lignins, silica, wax (alter tissue                  texture: predator slips off or gets stuck)
h) layers of armour: require the right tools to break through 
i) hard shells: act as armour
j) Gilbertian mimicry: illusion of presence of eggs to seem already 
k) laimed & dissuade more from laying eggs here
l) Batesian mimicry: imitating thorns 
m) camouflage 

2 CHEMICAL  (repel, warn, attract)
a) metabolites eg. phenolics, flavonoids, tannis (affect predator)
b) volatile organic compoud: airborn signals to warn other plants  
c) extrafloral nectar (attract predators of the plants predator)
d) trichomes (dispense chemical that cause irritation)

3 MECHANICAL
a) sensetouch, vibration, electrical or thermal stimuli &  inducing 
thigmonastic movement: lowers surface area for predator to attack & seem wilted (play dead) 
b) alter size
c)  strategic growth patterns



Please note that this is a non-exhaustive summary of the biological functions present in the plant kingdom. Through research at the Biological Archive of the Naturhistorische Museum Wien, the following is a legend to disect the strategies of defence used in the plant kingdom.  I invite you to take this approach of reinterpretation for personal use with you into further research: there is more where this came from. 

THE ARCHIVE
find the legend of biological reference on your right, and legend of interpretation for how the biological qualities can be reinterpreted as attitutes for resistance against the patriarchy on the left. 



1b2a

pedagogy of pain1. Milk Thistle Compass Plant

Wild, Eindhoven  
Habitat: ditches, verges, abandoned pastures and roadsides.

Spikes make it hard to take a bite: the predator learns through the possibility of pain to adjust its behaviour.  


1a1h2a

pedagogy of pain2.  Giant Agave

Wild, cerca Manacor, Mallorca
Habitat: rocky slopes, field borders, transitions from mountain range to valleys and woodlands.

marginal teeth and thick skin of the leaves make it hard for herbivors to take a bite. 
1a1f2a

connected by distance
3. Cotton Thiste

Jardin des Plantes, Paris 
Habitat: coastal dunes, river floodplains, neglected fields, construction zones, roadsides.

Thorns and hair makes it hard to take a bite. Through fear the body of the predator shrinks in anticipation of pain, however its soft fuzz coating allows for liquids to collect and invites touch and connection. Its physical duality creates a push and pull that makes the approacher attentive to the plants boundaries, what may harm the plant, and invites for a reflected interaction. 





1f2a

soft direction
4.  Paper Mulberry

Wild, Lyon
Habitat: open, distrubed forest edges, river banks, roadsides and field margins. 

fine hairs make it harder to climb and guide animals to where it wants attention. It is a gentle nudging, an invitation that is both beneficial to the plant and animal.   







2a1f

pedagogy of pain
5. Poppy

Wild, Eindhoven
Habitat: dry grassland, mild coast, desert. 

fine hairs make it harder to climb and guide animals to where it wants attention. Akaloids make it unpalatable or toxic to herbivores.






1b1f

pedagogy of pain6.  Aubergine

Community Garden, Saint Etienne  
Habitat: lowland scrub, dry woodlands.

Spikes make it hard to take a bite: the predator learns through the possibility of pain to adjust its behaviour.  





1d  

 soft direction
7. Borage


Community Garden, Saint Etienne  
Habitat: old fields and roadsides.

fine hairs make it harder to climb and guide animals to where it wants attention 







 2a1f

 soft direction
8.  Yellow Horn-Poppy  

Jardin des Plants, Paris 
Habitat: coastal dunes. high wind, sand, sun exposure

fine hairs make it harder to climb and guide animals to where it wants attention 




2a1f  

soft direction
9.  Geranium


Community Garden, Saint Etienne  
Habitat: sunny srubs 

fine hairs make it harder to climb and guide animals to where it wants attention 




1a1h

pedagogy of pain10. Bitter Aloe 

Parc Floral de Paris, Paris 
Habitat: rocky slopes, dry rocky grasslands. 

The reddish-brown teeth-like spines cover the  leaf to deter animals from grazing on it, while also adding structural support to the heavy leaves.






1f3c

soft direction
11. Spanish Broom

Parc Floral de Paris, Paris 
Habitat: roadsides, disturbed land, forest edges, rocky hillsides.

trichomes cover the seed pods to protect them from insect predators, the intense sun and trap a small layer of air around the pod to reduce mositure loss.







1a1h  

re direction
12. Silk Floss Tree

Parc Floral de Paris, Paris 
Habitat: woodland edges and river basins  

conical prinkles on its trunk and branches to deter animals from climbing it. 




2a1b

instrumentalising pain13. Jimsonweed

Rhein riverbank, Leverkusen
Habitat: riverbanks, roadsides, overgrazed pastures. 

all parts of the plant are highly poisionous. tannins and spikes concentrated on its seed pods work together to protect the plant and protect its future generations. 





 3c  

cargo of care
14. Love-in-a-mist.

Jardin des Plantes, Paris 
Habitat: hilly meadows 

fine hairs surrounding the flower make sure that insects don’t crawl away taking nectar without providing pollination. 

1a1h  
soft direction 

15. Common Gorse

West Highland Way, Scottland
Habitat: rough grasslands, disturbed soils, roadside.

long and dense spines prevent grazing and herivors from reaching the plant’s centre. 


1a1h

hosting backup
16.    Waternut


Botanical Archive, Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien
Habitat: muddy waters 

animals coming to feed get the seeds stuck in their feet and disperse it through migration while preventing being eaten. 





1a1h 2c   


hosting backup
17. Bullhorn acacia 


    Botanical Archive, Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien
    Habitat: swamps, river edges, open fields. 

    The thorns are hollow, and bull ants often nest in them, which means the regular prick of the thorns is in these cases accompanied by the painful bite of the ant. 



    1a    


    pedagogy of pain
    18. Little Halberd-leaved Acacia

    Botanical Archive, Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien
    Habitat: swampy shrub, along creek margins, moist forests. 

    Tiny razor-like leaves cover the branches, who’s shape help tolerate high temperatures and reduce  water loss. The needle or spear like tips of the leaves have hardend to deter herbivores.




    1a2a    

    pedagogy of pain

    19.  Cook acacia aka Ant thorn 

    Botanical Archive, Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien
    Habitat: open transitional scrub areas. 

    The thorns are hollow, and bull ants often nest in them, which means the regular prick of the thorns is in these cases accompanied by the painful bite of the ant. 


    1c    
    pedagogy of pain
    20. Brambel


    Botanical Archive, Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien
    Habitat: edges and verges, back gardens, forest clearings. 

    predators get pricked in passing causing them to avoid the plant 




    1f soft direction
    21. Mountain Peony

    Botanical Archive, Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien
    Habitat: subalpine and alpine mountain grasslands, rocky terraces and steep stony shady slopes. 

    fine hairs make it harder to climb and guide animals to where it wants attention 






    Collection 2025 Samples can be sent to annazoehamm@proton.me