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  • I
    injunjack
    見習いボス
    Joined: 19 Feb 2010

    Though EVERYBODY knows this I still wanted to bring it out.

    The Hanky Code
    The hanky code is a signaling system used by gay men and members of the fetish and BDSM communities to indicate sexual preference. Signals in the hanky code are conveyed by wearing a handkerchief of a specific color or pattern in either the right or left back pocket, conveying preference to anyone in the vicinity who is familiar with the concept of the hanky code. While wearing a hanky, someone is said to be “flagging,” and the hanky code is known as flagging, the bandanna code, or the handkerchief code.

    Some people have suggested that the basics of the hanky code may go as far back to the 1800s, when men in isolated regions of the American West would wear red handkerchiefs to indicate that they were willing to take a woman's role in a dance. However, this is probably apocryphal, and has never been verified. More solidly, the seeds for the hanky code appear to have been sown in the 1970s, when gay men first started wearing handkerchiefs according to guidelines published in The Village Voice, a newspaper in New York City.

    There are a number of advantages to the hanky code which explain why it endures to this day. In the 1970s, when the gay community was less outspoken, the hanky code allowed gay men to communicate with each other without attracting attention, and allowed men to more easily scope out potential dates. In communities where the hanky code was prevalent, men knew that pursuing men who weren't flagging could be risky, and they could seek out partners on the basis of preference by checking their back pockets.

    This code also turned out to be handy in crowded environments like gay bars, where the noise and crowd could make it hard to establish a connection with someone. As the hanky code spread in the gay community, it began to be picked up more generally in the fetish and BDSM communities, and complex permutations of colors, patterns, and placements began to proliferate.

    As a general rule, someone who flags in the left pocket indicates that he or she is a top, while someone who flags in the right pocket is a bottom. Bottoms prefer to participate as recipients in sexual and fetish encounters, while tops prefer just the opposite.

    Knowing about the hanky code can be useful if you are traveling to an area with a large queer or fetish-oriented population, as you might unwittingly send out a signal if you leave a handkerchief in your back pocket. However, many people rely on other social cues beyond the hanky code; if you happen to have, for example, a gray handkerchief in your right pocket while innocently riding the subway, you are unlikely to be ravaged by eager bondage tops, although someone might approach with a courteous introduction.

    so, next time think carefully which pocket and which color…. 😉

    last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 06:32 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
    • S
      Seul
      Joined: 24 Nov 2009

      A gay 'merican guy told me about this when he saw a pic of me wearing a bandana…  :-\

      last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 06:36 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • J
        jimmy
        Joined: 17 Dec 2010

        Wow I had no clue

        last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 07:02 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • G
          Giles
          IHUK Crew
          Joined: 22 Sept 2009

          And you know what, I dont care and will wear whatever colour bandana wherever the feck I want…..

          "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

          last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 07:06 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • J
            jimmy
            Joined: 17 Dec 2010

            Haha pretty much

            last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 07:08 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • I
              injunjack
              見習いボス
              Joined: 19 Feb 2010

              @Giles:

              And you know what, I dont care and will wear whatever colour bandana wherever the feck I want…..

              me neither, but wanted to bring it to attention…as so many show up in pics with a bandanna in their back pocket. (of course it may be there for reason, what do I know 😉  ) sometimes you just might get not wanted attraction and wonder why ;-))

              last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 07:51 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • R
                rocket
                Joined: 6 Jan 2011

                think thats a good advice for some people, I'm aware of that there is a coding, but like Giles give a damn feck on that, or what others my think about it… but at least I now know that I want Top BDSM  ;D, so where are my slaves....

                rocketrocksrox 🤙🏼🤙🏾

                It's all humbug, like everywhere
                R.I.P. Geo

                last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 09:00 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • F
                  Finn666
                  Joined: 20 Jan 2011

                  @Giles:

                  And you know what, I dont care and will wear whatever colour bandana wherever the feck I want…..

                  qft…

                  IJ - so what about all those lonely cowboys back in the days wearing their bandanas in their backpockets...do you think they also were out for some brolove? 🙂

                  last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 11:27 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • S
                    Seul
                    Joined: 24 Nov 2009

                    It was to show their horses whether they'd go on top or not…

                    last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 11:33 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • I
                      injunjack
                      見習いボス
                      Joined: 19 Feb 2010

                      Brokeback Mountain, do I need to say more….LOL

                      BTW.  I thought Cowboys wore their Bandannas around their neck...

                      last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 11:55 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • F
                        Finn666
                        Joined: 20 Jan 2011

                        ^sometimes…but you know that there are always some black sheeps around 😉

                        last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 12:14 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • J
                          jimmy
                          Joined: 17 Dec 2010

                          @Seul:

                          It was to show their horses whether they'd go on top or not…

                          Your on a roll with these today huh 🙂

                          last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 12:30 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • O
                            Omega Man
                            Haraki san Student
                            Joined: 15 Jul 2010

                            Damn, I hope it doesn't apply to pocket squares  ;D, cause I have a rainbow of colours AND only wear it on my left chest suit pocket  ::).

                            last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 12:46 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • S
                              Seul
                              Joined: 24 Nov 2009

                              Don't worry: that's the signal of a confident gay man.

                              last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 12:59 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • O
                                Omega Man
                                Haraki san Student
                                Joined: 15 Jul 2010

                                @Seul:

                                Don't worry: that's the signal of a confident gay man.

                                Ha, ha, you got me there.

                                last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 14:30 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • S
                                  Seul
                                  Joined: 24 Nov 2009

                                  In other news: those leaked pics of Scarlett Johansson… Oh Lord those leaked pics...  😘

                                  last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 15:38 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • L
                                    Lucifer
                                    Joined: 31 Aug 2011

                                    She has quite a perky little behind, does she not?

                                    Seize the day and don't you cry.

                                    last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 16:55 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • B
                                      Blackheart
                                      Joined: 4 Mar 2011

                                      Maybe she needs a navy blue bandana in her right back pocket… 😉

                                      last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 16:59 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • ?
                                        Guest
                                        Joined:

                                        WoW  i had no idea about this whole  bandanna code thing!  lol

                                        last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 17:17 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • G
                                          Geo
                                          Joined: 29 Sept 2010

                                          Are you sure dude? I mean you're quite keen on the old bandanas . . .

                                          Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity

                                          last edited by 14 Sept 2011, 17:22 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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