The handkerchief code (also known as the hanky code, the bandana code, and flagging[1]) is color-coded system, employed usually among the gay male casual-sex seekers or BDSM practitioners in the leather subculture in the United States, Canada, and Europe, to indicate preferred sexual fetishes, what kind of sex they are seeking, and whether they are a top/dominant or bottom/submissive. The hanky code was widely used in the 1970s by gay and bisexual men, and grew from there to include all genders and orientations.
Today, wearing color-coded handkerchiefs (bandanas), usually in the back pocket or around the belt loop, is the manner in which communication of desires and fetishes is achieved. Wearing a handkerchief on the left side of the body typically indicates one is a "top" (one considered active in the practice of the fetish indicated by the color of the handkerchief), while wearing it on the right side of the body would indicate one is a "bottom" (one considered passive in the practice of the fetish indicated by the color of the handkerchief). This left-right reality is taken from the earlier practice of tops wearing their keys on the left belt loop and bottoms on the right to indicate being a member of the leather subculture. In the past bandanas might be worn tied around the neck (with the knot positioned on either the left or right side); around the ankle (when wearing boots or when undressed); or on other parts of the body.
There is no universally understood color code, and regional codes vary widely. There is general agreement upon the colors for more common practices, particularly those with an intuitive relation between the color and the practice, such as yellow for urolagnia; brown for coprophilia; and black for SM, but no absolute consensus for more common practices.
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The wearing of various colored bandanas around the neck was common in the mid- and late-nineteenth century among cowboys, steam railroad engineers, 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 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). There is also another theory that the modern Hanky Code started in New York City in late 1970 or early 1971 when a journalist for the Village Voice joked that instead of simply wearing keys 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 hankies.[2]
The first table is drawn from Larry Townsend's The Leatherman's Handbook II (i.e., the second edition of the book in 1983, the first edition of which came out in 1972 and did not include this list),[3] and may be taken as more authoritative than most web pages. Implicit in this list of hankie color codes is the concept of right/left polarity, left as usual indicating the top, dominant, or active partner, right the bottom, submissive, or passive partner. Purple, the code for piercing, merely indicates an interest in piercing (usually that the wearer has body piercings), not necessarily that they wish to incorporate piercing into sexual play.
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Black | S&M |
| Red | Fisting |
| Dark blue | Anal sex |
| Light blue | Oral sex |
| Yellow | Watersports |
| Brown | Scat |
| Green | Hustler/Prostitution |
| Orange | Anything, anywhere, any time (but not necessarily anyone) |
| Purple | Into piercing |
| Grey | Bondage |
The long, elaborate lists such as that in the next table and most found on the web, are more imaginative and the many color codes in them are less often used in practice, although most of the colors in longer lists are offered as bandanas for sale at almost all LGBT leather stores along with free color code cards listing their meanings.
The following table is derived from the color code cards provided free by LGBT leather stores. The left/right distinction indicates a desire to be the top or bottom respectively. It can also signal whether, in various fetishes, one desires to be the active or passive participant in the act, though which is which is more ambiguous depending on the act's nature. Due to regional differences, not all of these may be correct for all locations.
| Color | Meaning | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Black | Heavy S&M | Indicates the wearer's interest in hardcore SM play, especially whipping.[4][5] |
| Red | Fisting | Left pocket: Insertive partner. Right pocket: Receptive partner.[4][5] |
| Yellow | Watersports | Urinating on or in (left), or being urinated upon or into by (right), another person[4][5] |
| Grey | Bondage | Play involving ropes, handcuffs, or other restraints that limit the bottom's ability to move. In some codes, grey is also indicative of a desire for light S&M (not as hardcore as wearing Black)[4][5] |
| White | Safe sex (a checkered black and white hanky is also indicative of safe sex) or masturbation only | Play only involving safe sex, masturbation, or mutual masturbation. In some codes, it is also indicative of "vanilla sex only" in the cases when the wearer is a leather fetishist but not into BDSM play |
| Light blue | Oral sex | Wearing it in the left back pocket or on the left side indicates willingness to receive oral sex. Wearing it in the right back pocket or on the right side indicates desire to perform oral sex. |
| Navy blue | Anal sex | Wearing it in the left back pocket or on the left side indicates a preference to be the insertive partner (the "top" or "pitcher") during anal intercourse. Wearing it in the right back pocket or on the right side indicates a preference to be in the receptive role (the "bottom" or "catcher"). |
| Light pink | Dildos | |
| Charcoal | Latex and PVC fetishism | [note 1] |
| Medium blue | Uniform fetish | Police uniforms or uniforms worn by other authority figures |
| Teal | Cock and ball torture | |
| Khaki | Military sex (Uniform fetish) | Likes wearing military uniforms |
| Olive drab | Military person[note 2] | Left: A military top; Right: a military bottom |
| Kelly green | Male prostitution | Left: a male prostitute; right: a John (someone looking for a prostitute) |
| Hunter green | Daddy/boy sex | Looking for a boy (left) or looking for a Daddy (right). |
| Mint green | Mommy/boy or girl | Looking for a baby boy or girl (left) or looking for a Mommy (right). |
| Brown | Scat[4][5] | |
| Burnt umber | Extreme sex | Extreme sex such as branding; or sex that is taboo even among most people in the leather subculture, e.g. pederasty or bestiality.[note 3] Some say it's an inside joke. |
| Orange | Few limits | When worn on the left, orange indicates that the wearer will top in relatively any fetish, anytime, anywhere. Conversely, when orange is worn on the right, it can indicate either the wearer will bottom in relatively any fetish, anytime, anywhere or can indicate "just looking, no play". |
| Robin egg blue (Pale robin egg blue) | 69 | |
| Deep aqua (printer's cyan) | Aquaphilia | Having sex in water, such as in a bathtub, shower, hot tub, or swimming pool (see bunga bunga orgy) |
| Lime | Food play | Eating food off someone's body or having food eaten off one's body |
| Chamoise | Motorcycle sex | Indicates the wearer is looking for sex involving a motorcycle as a prop, or involving one or more bikers in the sexual activities. |
| Mauve | Navel fetishism | |
| Dark pink | Tit torture | |
| Magenta (printer's magenta) | Armpits | Left: likes to lick armpits; right: likes armpits licked; hairy armpits (on females); general armpit play. |
| Fuchsia | Spanking | Wants to spank (left); wants to be spanked (right) |
| Purple[note 4] | Piercings | Actually piercing someone (left) or actually being pierced by someone (right) as an erotic stimulation; or one who has piercings (left) or one who desires someone with piercings (right) |
| Lavender (bright lavender) | Cross-dressing | |
| Coral | Foot fetishism | Wants feet licked (left); wants to lick feet (right) |
| Mustard (gold ochre)[note 5] | Size queen | |
| Gold (golden) | Ménage à trois | Two looking for one (left) or one looking for two (right) |
| Brick Red | Blood Play | Whipping with the intention of causing bleeding[note 6] |
| Sand | Sweat & Tears | Using tears and sweat as lubricant for intercourse. Also includes drinking sweat & tears |
| Apricot | Chubby chaser | |
| Peach | Bear or cub who is interested in sex with another bear or cub | |
| Light yellow | Spitting | Left—wants to spit on or into partner during sex; right—wants to be spat upon or into during sex |
| Beige (desert sand)[note 7] | Anal–oral sex | |
| Tan | Cigar play | Left—want to smoke a cigar while having sex; right—wants someone who smokes cigars while having sex (may also include the insertion of a cigar into various bodily orifices) |
| Rust | Animal roleplay[note 8] | |
| Dark red | Two-handed Anal fisting[note 9] | |
| Camouflage | Rugged outdoorsman | Having sex outdoors in the country (such as when going camping) |
| Gingham | Urban outdoorsman | Having sex in an urban park |
| Argyle | Geeks | A geek or nerd (left) or interested in geeks or nerds (right)[note 10] |
| Doily (an actual doily, not a bandana with a doily pattern) | Tearoom trade | Likes to have sex in public lavatories |
| Gold (metallic gold) lamé | Muscle sex | Left—is a bodybuilder; right—looking for sex with a bodybuilder |
| Silver (metallic silver) lamé | Starfucker | Left—is a rock star, celebrity or male groupie; right—looking for sex with a rock star, celebrity or male groupie |
| Black leather bandana | Leather fetish | |
| Black velvet bandana | Videotaping | Likes to make videotapes of the act while having sex (left); likes to be videotaped (right) (see amateur pornography)[note 11] |
| Jolly Roger bandana | Clothing fetish | Likes to wear a (non-military) costume while having sex (left); desires someone in a costume (right).[note 12] |
| Gray flannel bandana | Suit and tie fetish | Left—likes to have sex while wearing a suit and tie; right—likes to have sex with someone who is wearing a suit and tie. |
| Houndstooth | Biting | Likes to bite (Left) or likes to be bitten (right) |
| Black and white checkerboard pattern | Safe sex | e.g., frottage, sword play, or mutual masturbation or striptease in front of mirrors[note 13] |
| Chrome | Thug Sex | Thug (left) Thuggett (right) |
| Plaid pattern | Gingers Redheads | Natural redhead (left) Likes redheads, "redophile" (right) |
| Baby Blanket Material | Ageplay or Infantalism |