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Gay Hanky Code

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Ganesh

03:41 / 23.02.03

Having had this conversation over the past few weeks/months, I'm now linking to the gay hanky code. It's something of a 70s throwback but, in the more 'leathery' bars, still holds at least some sway.

Bring your Dulux colour chart. And a torch.

A Qalyn Signifier ==>
(prev. Sign of Qalyn)

07:51 / 23.02.03

This would be such a nightmare of manners for me. I'm color blind. I'd go looking for a horse and end up easting shrimp.

aus

08:30 / 23.02.03

I had no idea! I'm afraid I'll never get the hang of the hanky code, so I'm digging through my top drawer and throwing out ALL the hankies!

But what does an unwiped runny nose mean? Should I let it run to the left and sniff in the right, or should I prefer the right nostril?

Papess

09:38 / 23.02.03

Just hold the hanky up and blow.

aus

10:05 / 23.02.03

quote:
throwing out ALL the hankies!

Stoatie. Stoatie? STOATIE.
(prev. Stoatie's power level is >9000)

12:29 / 23.02.03

Doesn't the "distracting environment" making telling the various shades of green apart a little tricky?

pointless and uncalled for

12:33 / 23.02.03

On the subject of gay codes, if the chain is worn on the left, does that make you a giver or a taker?

Bear

12:35 / 23.02.03

Under-taker - um think the left means taker rigth?

No star here laces

12:38 / 23.02.03

Some of these seem a bit redundant, I mean you surely don't need a hanky to tell you're looking at a TV, right?

Bear

12:45 / 23.02.03

Guess it depends how convincing they are, sometimes people can't tell honest I've seen them on Jerry Springer.

Stoatie. Stoatie? STOATIE.
(prev. Stoatie's power level is >9000)

12:47 / 23.02.03

Actually, it's now occurred to me that, sadly, I will never be a homosexual.

(whispers)- I don't actually own any hankies at all, y'see... (oh, the shame)

Bear

12:49 / 23.02.03

I just checked out the site never knew there were so many different types!

Is copsucker just that or does it mean something else?

How about a chicken hawk?

Bear

12:50 / 23.02.03

(whispers)- I don't actually own any hankies at all, y'see... (oh, the shame)
hehe

Maybe that's why my Granny kept giving me big packs of hankies at Christmas maybe she knows something about me?

pointless and uncalled for

13:02 / 23.02.03

I though all pirates had hankies. Big red and white spotted ones, worn on the head.

What is that code for?

Mourne Kransky

13:36 / 23.02.03

That's for 16 men on a dead man's chest.

pinstripe fictionsuit

13:45 / 23.02.03

Bear - if I recall correctly, a chickenhawk is an older man who likes younger men.

How much does the code vary from place to place? I realise it says the canonical hanky code at the top of the page, but surely, despite the sterotypes, not all gay men are interior designers. I definitely couldn't tell the difference between some of those blues and I used to paint quite a lot (Reminds me of Rimmer from Red Dwarf and his Ocean Grey and Military Grey), so I would guess that though that code might be the definitive version, shortened versions of it are in wider usage. But does it also vary in meanings from place to place?

pinstripe fictionsuit

14:07 / 23.02.03

Anyone know how much, if ever, the hanky code is used in the lesbian community, SM or otherwise?

DRR... DRR... DRR...
(prev. Mordant)

18:29 / 23.02.03

So what's this guy into, then?

DRR... DRR... DRR...
(prev. Mordant)

18:40 / 23.02.03

Also, I can't help but think back to my janitor/streetsweeper job. I had my duster in one pocket, my keys hanging off my belt and marigold gloves. And a skirt.

Talk about mixed messages...

Goodness Gracious Meme

20:43 / 23.02.03

According to these guys:

"Lesbian Femmes can flag by hanging a scarf off their belt rather than the handkerchief in question. Other common methods of flagging include hanging keys or a pair of handcuffs off of one side. "

There's also this:

"Some of the codes seem to have two conflicting meanings ...while others have the same meaning in both the gay and lesbian community (which has a few different ones). "

Gawd, this is complicated.

Goodness Gracious Meme

20:53 / 23.02.03

Here's a pretty coloured version of the codes.

Chol, found this, from the beginner's guide to speaking queer:

"Hanky Code — the code used primarily by gay men, but also by some lesbians, when cruising to signal to potential partners exactly what they are seeking. Each color of bandanna or hanky signifies a different sexual act, and is usually worn in the back pocket. If the hanky is worn on the left, it means that the wearer is a top or wishes to give a particular thing; on the right, that the wearer is a bottom or wishes to receive a particular thing. eg: In lesbian hanky code, light pink signifies a dildo or strap-on. If a light pink hanky is worn on the left, then the wearer is packing or likes to wear a dildo. If the hanky is worn on the right, then the wearer likes to get fucked with a dildo."

pinstripe fictionsuit

20:56 / 23.02.03

You'd think handcuffs would be fairly obvious, one way or another.

pinstripe fictionsuit

20:58 / 23.02.03

Thankee, BiP. Just curious really.

pinstripe fictionsuit

21:08 / 23.02.03

Of course, if you're a switch with varied sexual tastes, you're going to look like a bad magician...

Goodness Gracious Meme

21:16 / 23.02.03

*lol*

Think I might not bother with the hankies then. (If i've got a rabbit in my left pocket, what does that mean?)

I was curious too, never come across it myself... have you?

Ganesh

21:23 / 23.02.03

Bunny-boiler. Avoid.

pinstripe fictionsuit

21:46 / 23.02.03

No, but then I've only been to one lesbian SM bar, and I only really like the Glass Bar, which isn't really all that cruise-y of a place at all...so I haven't really been exposed to environs in which it might flourish. Don't know anyone that uses it, though the wallet 'n' chain thing is more common, I believe, to denote top or bottom.

fridgemagnet

21:56 / 23.02.03

Is there more to "Owns a suit" and "Likes men in suits" (grey flannel) than meets the eye? Or is it just, er, wearing suits?

Ganesh

21:58 / 23.02.03

Suit fetishists who like to fuck or be fucked in formalwear, one assumes.

@ Bod (The Second)

13:16 / 24.02.03

RE: The Beginners Guide To Speaking Queer
- made me laugh - I thought it was gonna be like gay elocution lessons or something. Why not go the whole hog and have a Gay Finishing School? in Switzerland? Might include modules on Mincing and Camping it up. and Swiss Cheese.

grant

21:37 / 24.02.03

Crap - it looks like either I'll do us both or else I'm looking for an orgy.
When in fact I never like leaving the house without a hanky.

I'll have to try the ziploc bag one sometime. Well, maybe I should say, I'd *like* to try that sometime.

Dangerous

15:56 / 25.02.03

Hmmm, it seems to me that there's a good market for hankies for straight men. Hankies that do not fall under the hanky code that is.

Like Fuschia, Yellow, White and Red striped with Brown spots. Perhaps with Superted sewn onto one side just to finish it off?

Of course, that could be taken the wrong way... people could assume you were a Shaved-Spankee-Piss-Freak who is especially interested in sucking Latinos. Not sure what they'd make of Superted tho?

Bear

15:58 / 25.02.03

That you like Spotty Men?

Ho-ho

Goodness Gracious Meme

15:58 / 25.02.03

Thought of Mordant today as I trolled around on the first day of my new cleaning job; marigolds hanging from l.h.pocket, red/white jay cloth from r.h. pocket and keys on chain round neck.

moi?

JOY NO WRY

13:33 / 29.01.07

Just ended up reading this thread after wandering through the Homosexual 101 thread, and it's left me a bit dazed.

When I was about fifteen I started wearing a (black, sort of paisly) bandana around my neck. I never paid any attention to what side I tied it until, visiting my dad one day, he told me not to tie in to the right any more because it "means you're gay". I asked him why and he told me he wasn't going to explain.

My dad, obviously enough, isn't very open minded about these things. He's got a lot of subcultural knowledge from the 70's, though. I honestly wonder what he was thinking. Possibly - "If my son is going to be gay" (something my mum was certainly unsure about) "then he better be a top".

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