View source for Handkerchief code

{{short description|Use of color-coded bandanas in gay and BDSM communities}}
[[File:Hankycode.jpg|thumb|An assortment of handkerchiefs displayed in the back pockets of a man's jeans]]
{{LGBT symbols}}

The '''handkerchief code''' (also known as the '''hanky'''/'''hankie code''', the '''bandana'''/'''bandanna code''', and '''flagging''')<ref name=Andrews2010 >{{cite book | last=Andrews | first=Vincent | year=2010 | title=The Leatherboy Handbook | publisher=The Nazca Plains Corp. | isbn=978-1-61098-046-3 }}</ref> is a system of [[Color coding|color-coded]] cloth [[handkerchief]] or [[Kerchief|bandanas]] for non-verbally communicating one's interests in sexual activities and [[Sexual fetishism|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 in that activity. Wearing a handkerchief on the left side of the body typically indicates one is a "top" (considered ''active'' in the act/fetish indicated by the color of the handkerchief) while wearing it on the right side of the body would indicate one is a "bottom" (considered ''passive'' in it). For example, a dark blue handkerchief indicates an interest in [[anal sex]], and wearing it in the left pocket indicates a preference for being the penetrating partner. The code was first used in the 1970s in the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Australia]], and [[Europe]], by gay and bisexual men seeking [[casual sex]] or [[BDSM]] practitioners. The practice spread to [[Sexual practices between women|lesbian]] and other [[Sadomasochism|S/M]] communities soon after. Over time the colors and types of apparel in use have greatly proliferated, due to cultural differences in communities depending on location and social media use.

==Origin==
[[File:Handkerchief code.jpg|thumb|Two men using the hanky code|alt=Two men wearing colored in the back pockets of their clothes]]

The wearing of colored bandanas around the neck as a practical accessory was common in the mid- and late-nineteenth century among [[cowboy]]s, [[Railroad engineer|steam railroad engineer]]s, and [[miner]]s in the [[Western United States]]. It is thought that the wearing of bandanas by [[gay men]] originated in [[San Francisco]] after the [[California Gold Rush|Gold Rush]], when, because of a shortage of women, men dancing with each other in [[square dance]]s 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 (these bandanas were usually worn around the arm or hanging from the belt or in the back pocket of one's [[jeans]]).<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=https://www.thesaintfoundation.org/community/hanky-code-bob-damrons-address-book |title=The Handkerchief Code, According to 'Bob Damron's Address Book' in 1980 |last=Kacala |first=Alexander |publisher=The Saint |date=April 25, 2019 |website=The Saint Foundation |access-date=March 30, 2021}}</ref>

In the 1970s, the modern hanky code developed as a [[Semiotics|semiotic]] system of sexual advertising popular among the gay [[Leather subculture|leather community]] of the United States<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Reilly |first1=Andrew |last2=Saethre |first2=Eirik J. |date=2013-10-01 |title=The hankie code revisited: From function to fashion |journal=Critical Studies in Men's Fashion |language=en |volume=1 |pages=69–78 |doi=10.1386/csmf.1.1.69_1}}</ref> and [[Cruising for sex|cruising scene]] more broadly. Businesses across the country used the hanky code in advertisements to gay clientele.<ref>{{Cite web |title=More than just a theatre! Big Top (UC12330163) |url=https://doi.org/10.25549/one-c4-47112 |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=USC Libraries |date=2021 |doi=10.25549/one-c4-47112 |via=[[ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bandana night, every Tuesday : Larry's, 5414 Melrose Los Angeles (UC12351950) |url=https://doi.org/10.25549/one-c4-44052 |website=USC Libraries |date=2021 |doi=10.25549/one-c4-44052 |via=[[ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives]]}}</ref>

The origin of the modern hanky code is disputed. The modern hanky code is often reported to have started in [[New York City]] around 1970, when a journalist for the ''[[Village Voice]]'' jested that instead of simply wearing a set of keys on one side or the other (then a common code 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 handkerchiefs.<ref>{{cite book |first1= Susan |last1= Stryker |author-link= Susan Stryker |first2= Jim |last2= Van Buskirk |title= Gay by the Bay: A History of Queer Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area |location= San Francisco |publisher= [[Chronicle Books]] |year= 1996 |page= 18 |isbn= 0-8118-1187-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Hsieh|first=Carina|date=2020-07-02|title=What Is the Hanky Code?|url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a33078811/what-is-hanky-code-how-to-use/|access-date=2021-01-03|website=Cosmopolitan|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-04-23|title=Fifty Shades of Gay – The Hanky Code|url=https://www.ambushmag.com/fifty-shades-of-gay-the-hanky-code/|access-date=2021-01-03|website=Ambush Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref> However, other sources attribute the expansion of the original red–blue system into today's code to marketing efforts around 1971 by The Trading Post, a San Francisco [[department store]] for erotic merchandise, promoting handkerchiefs by printing cards listing the meanings of various colors.<ref name="gay-semiotics">{{cite book |last=Fischer |first=Hal |date=1977 |title=Gay Semiotics ♂ |url=http://www.queerculturalcenter.org/Pages/HalPages/GaySempg2.html |location=San Francisco |publisher=NFS Press |isbn=0-917986-03-2 |quote=In San Francisco, the signs began appearing around 1971. 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. |access-date=2017-06-23 |archive-date=2019-10-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018053832/http://www.queerculturalcenter.org/Pages/HalPages/GaySempg2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Meanwhile, [[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 1972, when their bandana supplier inadvertently doubled their order and the expanded code would help them sell the extra colors they had received.<ref name="selby">{{cite book|last=Jones|first=Jordy|date=2017|title=The Mayor of Folsom Street, The Auto/Biography of "Daddy Alan" Selby aka Mr. S|publisher=Fair Page Media LLC|isbn=978-0-9989098-0-6|pages=61–62}}</ref>

Around 1980, ''Bob Damron's Address Book'' published a yearly chart for the meaning of each colored handkerchief.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Color Codes.jpg|thumb|Color Codes from ''Bob Damron's Address Book'' (1980)]]

==Examples==

There is no single authoritative standard for the code, but there is broad agreement on the definition of certain colors. This table is drawn from [[Larry Townsend]]'s ''The Leatherman's Handbook II'' (the 1983 second edition; the 1972 first edition did not include this list) and is generally considered authoritative{{By whom|date=July 2025}}. Implicit in this list is the concept of left/right polarity, left as usual indicating the top, dominant, or active partner; right the bottom, submissive, or passive partner. Townsend noted that discussion with a prospective partner is still important because people may wear a given color "only because the idea of the hankie turns them on" or "may not even know what it means".<ref>{{cite book |last=Townsend |first=Larry|title=The Leatherman's Handbook II |year=1983 |publisher=Modernismo Publications |location=New York |isbn=0-89237-010-6 |page=26}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! Color
! Meaning
|-
| style="text-align:left" | {{color box|black}} Black || [[Sadomasochism|S&M]]
|-
| style="text-align:left" | {{color box|darkblue}} Dark Blue || [[Anal sex]]
|-
| style="text-align:left" | {{color box|lightblue}} Light Blue || [[Oral sex]]
|-
| style="text-align:left" | {{color box|brown}} Brown || [[Coprophilia|Scat]]
|-
| style="text-align:left" | {{color box|green}} Green || [[Male prostitution|Hustler]]/[[prostitution]]
|-
| style="text-align:left" | {{color box|grey}} Grey || [[Bondage (BDSM)|Bondage]]
|-
| style="text-align:left" | {{color box|orange}} Orange || Anything goes
|-
| style="text-align:left" | {{color box|purple}} Purple || [[Play piercing|Piercing]]
|-
| style="text-align:left" | {{color box|red}} Red || [[Fisting]]
|-
| style="text-align:left" | {{color box|yellow}} Yellow || [[Urolagnia|Pissing]]
|}

Longer, more elaborate lists may be found online, but many of the color variations in them are less often used in practice.

== Present day ==
The hanky code has recently undergone a revival and while the use of handkerchiefs may not be as prevalent, the hanky colors are a common consideration in the choice of leather and [[Fetish fashion|fetish gear]] color.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Networks|first=Hornet|date=2022-02-11|title=We're Loving the Push to Revive the Hanky Code for a New Queer Population|url=https://hornet.com/stories/new-hanky-code/|access-date=2022-02-18|website=Hornet|language=en}}</ref>

According to the [[Schwules Museum]], the creation of the [[leather pride flag]] in 1989 marked "a turning point in the history of the mostly gay leather and BDSM movements: moving away from secret signs and symbols (hanky cloths, for example) to more obvious and public visibility, both in the gay scene and society in general."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Object of the Month May: Leather Pride Flag |url=https://www.schwulesmuseum.de/bibliothek-archiv/object-of-the-month-may-leather-pride-flag/?lang=en |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=[[Schwules Museum]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

Social media may have lessened the use of hankies in cruising areas by digitizing the process. By using online platforms, [[men who have sex with men]] (MSM) can eliminate harassment and violence that they may face in public.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Filice|first1=Eric|last2=Raffoul|first2=Amanda|last3=Meyer|first3=Samantha B.|last4=Neiterman|first4=Elena|date=2019-07-05|title=The Impact of Social Media on Body Image Perceptions and Bodily Practices among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men: A Critical Review of the Literature and Extension of Theory|journal=Sex Roles|volume=82|issue=7–8|pages=387–410|language=en|doi=10.1007/s11199-019-01063-7|s2cid=198629523|issn=1573-2762|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[:Category:LGBTQ online dating services|Social networking services for MSM]] allow them to easily identify sexual interests without the need for physical apparel.<ref name=":1" />

== In popular culture ==
* In the film ''[[Cruising (film)|Cruising]]'' (1980), Detective Steve Burns ([[Al Pacino]]) goes into a store and has the handkerchief code explained to him by a hanky salesman ([[Powers Boothe]]).
* In the [[Gay pornography|pornographic fisting film]] ''Erotic Hands'' (1980) by [[Bijou Theater (Chicago)#Bijou Video|Bijou Video]], a red handkerchief fills the screen for the opening credits.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Erotic Hands |url=https://gay.aebn.com/gay/movies/125210/erotic-hands |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=[[AEBN]]}}</ref>
* In the early 1980s, [[Judas Priest]] frontman [[Rob Halford]] made the handkerchief code part of his stage costume.<ref>{{cite book |last=Halford |first=Rob |title=Confess |publisher=Headline Publishing Group |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-4722-6928-7 |pages=163}}</ref> In the music video for "[[Heading Out to the Highway]]", Halford can be seen wearing a red handkerchief in his left pocket.
* The hanky code is depicted and explained in the music video for "[[Brendan Maclean#House of Air|House of Air]]" (2017) by [[Brendan Maclean]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reynolds |first=Daniel |date=2017-02-08 |title=Is This Raunchy Music Video Art or Explicit Content? |url=https://www.advocate.com/music/2017/2/08/music-video-art-or-gay |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=[[The Advocate (magazine)|The Advocate]] |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Homosocialization]]
* [[Gel bracelet#Urban legend of sex bracelets|Urban legend of sex bracelets]]
* [[Queer manicure]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{commons category}}
{{Wiktionary}}
*{{cite book |author-link= Trevor Jacques |last= Jacques |first= Trevor H. |title= On the Safe Edge: A Manual for SM Play |isbn= 978-1-89585-705-4  |location= Toronto |publisher= Whole SM Publishing |year= 1993}}

{{LGBT slang}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:BDSM terminology]]
[[Category:Color codes]]
[[Category:Encodings]]
[[Category:Leather subculture]]
[[Category:LGBTQ symbols]]
[[Category:LGBTQ terminology]]
[[Category:Gay history]]
[[Category:LGBTQ fashion]]
[[Category:Fisting subculture]]