This is just one of two whole pages of a scanned brochure from “Image Leather,” a now-defunct leather daddy shop in San Francisco, describing what the wearing of certain colored handkerchiefs indicates when out cruising for sex. With dozens of color and material combinations to keep in mind, I have no doubt that this was primarily a tongue-in-cheek reference created by someone with too much time on their hands, but it’s amusing to think of thousands of men milling around the darkened parks of San Francisco, squinting to distinguish if the bit of cloth sticking out of a liaison’s pocket was leopard print, signifying a love for tattoos, or magenta, signifying that he’s an “armpit freak.”
I Love the Hanky Code [ILoveThisWorld.com]
I’m displaying my ignorance here on sexual practices, but can anybody explain what a ‘Military Bottom’ is? I know my tops from my bottoms, but I’m not sure what ‘military’ refers to.
I think the best part about this is the random fluid stains.
There is so much room for confused miscommunication there.
I’m pretty sure military refers to a military fetish (uniforms, drill sergeants & whatnot), but wtf is a chicken & chickenhawk?
And what if the bandana is worn on the head? Or does that just mean “dyke having a bad hair day”?
chicken refers to a young guy; chickenhawk, the older guy who favors them.
i’ve read a number of accounts that the hanky code was adopted by more-than-a-few radical dykes on the coasts ca. late 70’s/early 80’s. wasn’t just for fellas!
OK, I have some authority on this, gay and I read a ton of history/internet/crap etc. Yes, the hanky code was quite real ( it was a subtle way to advertise availability without tipping off the straights when you were out cruising the bars and parks ) and depending on the area of the country you’ll still find remnants. There are a couple bars here in the south that still throw “hanky nites”. Granted they’re more of a novelty but they still go on. Probably the big one that you’ll still see are black and blue bandanas. If you see a big butch daddy type with one of those, or a pin in the shape of a flag with alternating black and blue he’s into “leather n Levi’s”, probably light bondage, and a bit of S&M. The hanky code is old skool gay from the late 70’s but I wouldn’t be surprised if it reincarnates in some new form, say those annoying rubber bracelets everyone seems to be into.
This post neatly coincides with the re-release of the highly controversial and often maligned Al Pacino film, Cruising, dealing with a serial killer in the heavily butch scene of the mid-late ’70s. Rentable, but worth checking out at an art house near you.
And by the way, a black hankie in the left pocket means, “I fuck dead people,” but alas, there aren’t too many folks wearing it on the right.
OK, I AM a gay perv, and I have read and followed the hanky code before. It’s not really used so much now, since the Leather/BDSM scene has evolved to incorporate the entire world of fetish as well, so there are just too many colors to remember, and too many shades to differentiate in a dark bar.
I personally never quite understood the point of them. On the surface it was a convenient way to discern what someone was looking for so you didn’t waste time trying to get into their pants, but really it ended up being just another reason to stand there and not talk to anybody. I like meeting people and finding out what they’re into via conversation.
You know, I was just thinking about this very thing the other night wondering where I could find the code!
it can be traced back to 1800’s and could possibly to be with gayness being seen as very taboo back then so people needed a way of picking people up without saying to someone they were gay and instantly being branded a freak or whatever, and with all the colours to remember you don’t need to know some of them, quite frankly i don’t want to know all of them coz some are just weird so surly you’d just remember the ones you like, thats not what a black one means in popular culture it means you are into S&M and the right is bottom and left is top
Kit
Kit,
When you say the code can be traced back to the 1800s, do you mean the green carnation of Edwardian England, or are you referring to hankies specificially. If the latter, do you have a source?