Vocabulary:
lcsh
Type:
Topic
Note:
Work cat.: The unabridged hanky code, via WWW, Aug. 22, 2000 ("... if it is worn on the left the person is a dom (or top),
worn on the right means sub (or bottom) ... The different colors (and materials) have different specific meanings to indicate
the wearer's additional preferences. The hanky code is mainly used by the gay community, however some heterosexuals do use
a few of them ...")
Note:
Stewart, W. Cassell's queer companion : a dict. of lesbian and gay life and culture, 1995 (hankie codes: Method of advertising
sexual tastes in public used by gay men since the sexual heyday of the 1970s in order to facilitate cruising ... It consists
of a series of different coloured hankies representing different activities or attributes. They are worn in the different
trouser pockets with a hankie on the left meaning I do it to you (or I am that type) and on the right meaning you do it to
me (or I want that type). Predictably, gay communities were too dizzy to actually get together and agree on one series of
meanings, so there are variations used.)
Note:
Out in all directions, c1995: p. 435 (hanky codes)
Note:
Deviants' dictionary, via WWW, Aug. 22, 2000: codes and symbols/the hanky code ("The hanky code originated in the early 1970s
primarily as a means of distinguishing more specific sexual interests when the original SM (or at least DS)-orientated leather
scene was enlarging and style of dress could not be relied upon as an indicator of more esoteric sexual interests. The codes
used have varied from time to time and place to place, and the many subsequently published collected versions contain numerous
variants and contradictions ... The general principle is to wear the appropriate colour in the back pocket of your jeans so
that it is clearly showing, choosing the side according to the left-right convention described above, where left means top
or active and right means bottom or passive.")
Note:
Wizard's gay slang dictionary, via WWW, Aug. 22, 2000 (Hanky Codes: The handkerchief code was a way, for men to recognize
each other with then meet on the streets, bar, clubs, movies, and parks. The handkerchief code used location and color, to
indicate the sexual interests, of the potential sex partners.)
Note:
The canonical hanky code, via WWW, Aug. 22, 2000 ("The Hanky Code is a traditional form of signalling to others what your
sexual preferences and interests are. Gay men used this code to communicate with each other in the noisy and distracting environment
of gay bars.")
Note:
Yahoo!, Aug. 22, 2000 (category: Society and Culture > Sexuality > Activities and Practices > BDSM > Hanky Codes)
Note:
Wikipedia, Nov. 10, 2006 (Handkerchief code. The handkerchief code, also known as the hanky code, bandana code or flagging
is a way of indicating, usually among gay male casual sex seekers or BDSM practitioners in leather subculture in the US and
Canada, whether they are a top or bottom, and what kind of sex they are seeking, by wearing cotton, color-coded kerchiefs
(bandanas), usually in the back pocket)
Note:
Encyc. of homosexuality, 1990; Hogan, S. Completely queer, 1998
Note:
Here are entered works on codes used primarily by gay men to indicate their preferred sexual interests and practices by the
color and placement of handkerchiefs in their pockets.
