Gay handkerchiefs

The handkerchief code (also known as the hanky / hankie code, the bandana / bandanna code, and flagging) [1] is a system of color-coded cloth handkerchief or bandanas for non-verbally communicating one's interests in sexual activities and fetishes. The color of the handkerchief identifies a particular activity, and the pocket it is worn in (left or right) identifies the wearer's preferred role. Ever heard of the "Hanky Code?" Queer artist and activist Andy Simmonds' illustrations take us behind its sexy, and colorful, history!.

Answers & Advice What Is The Hanky Code? The History Behind Gay Flagging and How to Do It Today Starting as a way to subvert homophobic sodomy laws, flagging remains an important part of queer spaces today. At that time, gay men often wore colored bandanas, signaling specific interests or preferences. Typically worn on the neck or placed in the left or right back pocket, the color and placement of the bandana conveyed hidden messages to those who understood the code.

handkerchief code white

Decoding the Colors and Meanings within the hanky code. In the 50 years since the handkerchief code became popular, LGBT+ people are able to be more open about their sexuality. While cruising still happens, many people now find partners on apps like. Here, we take a look at the tools gay men have historically used to determine who is into what.

The handkerchief code also known as the hanky code, the bandana code and flagging is the wearing of various colored bandanas around the neck was common in the mid- and late-nineteenth century among cowboys, steam railroad engineers and miners in the Western United States. Color-coded, this system has been historically used by gay men to indicate preferred sexual fetishes, what kind of sex they are seeking, and whether they are a top or bottom.

It is thought that the wearing of bandanas by men originated in San Francisco after the Gold Rush, when, because of a shortage of women, men dancing with each other in square dances developed a code wherein the man wearing the blue bandana took the male part in the square dance, and the man wearing the red bandana took the female part.

Claims to when the more modern hanky code started vary. Some say it started in New York City in late or early when a journalist not Michael Musto for the Village Voice joked that instead of simply wearing keys to indicate whether someone was a "top" or a "bottom", it would be more efficient to subtly announce their particular sexual focus by wearing different colored hankies.

Others say that it was around by the San Francisco department store for erotic merchandise, The Trading Post. In Gay Semiotics , Hal Fischer writes:. In San Francisco, the signs began appearing around The Trading Post, a department store specializing in erotic merchandise, began promoting handkerchiefs in the store and printing cards with their meanings.

The red and blue handkerchiefs and their significance were already in existence, and meanings were assigned to other colors as well. Alan Selby, founder of Mr. S Leather in San Francisco, claimed that he created the first hanky code with his business partners at Leather 'n' Things in , when their bandana supplier inadvertently doubled their order and the expanded code would help them sell the extra colors they had received.

Starting in , a businessman by the name of Bob Damron published a book of all the gay bars he knew from his constant travels across the United States. Each one of the listings he had visited himself. Every last copy of the book he sold himself. Also listed in the guides was the handkerchief code. Today, the handkerchief code is still used, and there are a lot more colors of the rainbow expressing different desires, kinks and fetishes.

Take a look here:. The Dome. Saint Posters. April 25, The Hanky Code The handkerchief code also known as the hanky code, the bandana code and flagging is the wearing of various colored bandanas around the neck was common in the mid- and late-nineteenth century among cowboys, steam railroad engineers and miners in the Western United States. Credit: Warren K. What color are you wearing? Older Post Remembering Michael Fesco.