Handkerchief code
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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,Canada & Europe, 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. This code was widely used in the 1970s, but is much less used today. (The terms bandana code, hanky code, or flagging are much more widely used among those in the leather subculture than the term handkerchief code)
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[edit] Origin of the Bandana Code
The wearing of various colored bandanas around the neck was common in the mid and late 19th Century among cowboys and miners in the Western United States. It is thought that the wearing of bandanas by gay 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 where 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 (these bandanas were usually worn around the arm or around the belt or in the back pocket of one's jeans).[1]
The exact origin of the gay bandana code is not known, but it is generally thought to have originated in San Francisco about 1971. Additional historical research is needed to determine the exact time and place of origin.
[edit] How the Bandanas Are Worn to Display the Code
The bandanas are worn (often in the rear jeans pocket) on the left side of the body for tops and the right for bottoms (this division is still somewhat common: tops may wear keys on the left belt loop and bottoms on the right, for example), or sometimes are worn around the neck (tied on the right or left side). The bandanas may also be worn around the left or right side of one's belt. A Go Go dancer at a gay club may wear the bandanas around the right or left side of his g-string to indicate what kind of sex he is interested in if he meets someone after his performance.
There is no universally understood color code, and there have been some regional variations. There is general agreement upon the colours for more common practices, particularly those with an indexical relation between the color and the practice (eg: yellow for watersports, brown for scat, red for fisting, green for sex for money), but there is no absolute consensus for the more uncommon practices; the colours shown here represent a more or less common consensus.
[edit] The Bandana Code Today
The practice has largely (but not entirely) fallen out of use, perhaps due to the advent of internet dating and the coming out of more members of the leather and BDSM communities. Many, however, can still be seen wearing various colored bandanas at the Folsom Street Fair. The use of the bandana code has also been noted to be increasing among young gay men in the sagging subculture, probably because bandanas of various colors have been worn by youth gangs since the 1980s (Since about 2003, the hip-hop music favored by the sagging (hip-hop) subculture has become more popular among young gays than the house music that had previously been dominant among young gays since about 1989.).
As of today (2006), the bandana code is probably more widely used in San Francisco than any other gay locale.
In stores that sell leather fetish items in gay neighborhoods, free cards are given out with the meaning of the colors of the bandana code, and the various colors of bandanas are offered for sale for about two or three dollars.
Some leather people make an erotic fetish of the bandanas themselves, and while having sex may be completely naked except they may wear a bandana around their neck, head, or arm or leg of a color indicating what kind of sex they are having with their partner, later switching to wearing a different color if they perform a different kind of sex at a later time in the sexual encounter.[citation needed]
[edit] The Bandana Code in Pop Culture
A character on Rescue Me (TV series) was approached by several gay men after appearing in an FDNY calendar where he unwittingly wore a yellow bandana in his pocket while dressed as a cowboy.
[edit] One example of a hanky code
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Black | Heavy S&M (Pain) |
| Grey | Bondage |
| White | Mutual masturbation |
| Red | Fisting |
| Light blue | Oral Sex |
| Robin Egg Blue (Pale Robin Egg Blue) | 69 |
| Navy Blue | Anal sex |
| Pink (Hot Pink) | Dildos |
| Charcoal | Latex, PVC, or Rubber Fetish[2] |
| Black Leather (not cotton) bandana | Leather Fetish |
| Orange | Anytime/anyplace or expert at everything |
| Yellow | Watersports--Urine Fetish |
| Hunter green | Daddy (left)/looking for Daddy (right) |
| Medium Blue | Cop Sex (Wearing police uniforms) |
| Turquoise Blue (Printer's Cyan) | Aquaphilia--Having sex in water[3] |
| Teal | Cock and ball torture |
| Lime | Sitophilia--dining on someone or being dined off of. |
| Sandalwood | Carpenter Sex, i.e. having sex in a working environment |
| Khaki | Military Sex (Wearing military uniforms) |
| Grey Flannel | Suit and Tie Fetish |
| Coral | Foot Fetish (pinkies) |
| Green (Kelly green) | Sugar daddy (left) or Hustler (right) |
| Mauve | Navel fetish |
| Brown | Scat |
| Dark Pink | Tit torture |
| Purple (Pigment Violet) | Piercings |
| Lavender (Bright Lavender) | Cross dressing/Gender play |
| Mustard (Gold Ochre)[4] | Size queen (left--has big cock; right--wants big cock) |
| Gold (Golden) | Two looking for one (left) / One looking for two (right) |
| Apricot | Chubby chaser |
| Beige[5] | Rimming |
| Peach | Bear or Cub (into bears) |
| Camouflage | Rugged outdoorsman, i.e. having sex outdoors |
| Rust | Ponyism (may include dressing as cowboys) |
| Dark Red (Maroon) | Piercing Piercer (left) or Piercee (right) |
| Magenta (Printer's Magenta) | Armpits |
| Fuchsia | Spanking |
[edit] References
- ^ Susan Stryker and Jim Van Buskirk Gay by the Bay: A History of Queer Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco:1996--Chronicle Books ISBN 0-8118-1187-5 Page 18
- ^ The color charcoal was chosen because initially rubber was the most common material used for this fetish and charcoal is the color of rubber. Although rubber is still used, today PVC and latex are more commonly used for this fetish.
- ^ This color and fetish is seldom listed on the color code cards handed out at gay leather fetish stores, although it is seen occasionally.
- ^ The color called mustard in the bandana code is identical to the color called goldenrod in Wikipedia (the color called mustard in Wikipedia is much lighter than the mustard colored bandana).
- ^ The color called beige in the bandana code is identical to the color called zinnwaldite in Wikipedia (It is common for those in the baby boom generation to mistakenly think of beige as being the color zinnwaldite because in the 1960s, AT&T marketed a colored telephone for offices and homes in a color they called "beige" which was actually the color zinnwaldite.).
[edit] Further reading
- Trevor Jacques, On the Safe Edge: A Manual for SM Play (ISBN 1-895857-05-8)
