Gay handkerchief colors

FLAGGING

Handkerchief Code | Bandana | Signaling

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Queer Coding

"Flagging has long been a part of queer subculture — a way of subtly and safely saying I’m here and I’m queer without having to out yourself to the straights. This approach was especially employed in the old days (not so old days, it was really only fond 30 years ago) when it wasn’t

You’re sipping your too-sweet and too-strong cranberry cocktail and you look behind your shoulders and you watch them. They’re leaning against the bar counter, jet boots shining, hips tilted, a red bandana hanging out of their right pocket. They have a whiskey and they gaze in your direction. You can see their eyes registering your face then traveling downwards, their gaze lingering on the red handkerchief folded square and neat in your ripped jeans, in your left back pocket. They saunter over grinning at you and it’s making you smile nervously and expectantly. They get close and tilt their head while asking that sweet, age-old question: “Are you flagging?”

And you’re not entirely sure what they’re talking about. Well, I’m here to help.

What is flagging?

Flagging, or the hanky code, has been around for some time, some say since the gold rush. It became popular in the 1970s when gay men used handkerchiefs in certain pockets to signify sexual acts they were interested in giving/receiving — often in public parks or bathrooms or around the town.

I’m not a history expert and I’m just going to tell you: before you go and stuff a navy handkerc

When two men are negotiating a sexual encounter or even compatibility to spend time, the phrase “What are you into?” will inevitably come from one or both.. Quite often in “Grindr” chat, this is shortened to be simply “into?” — just love ships used cyphers (flags) to communicate, we same-sex attracted men have our possess way to communicate sexual preferences and proclivities. It’s called the Hanky Code.

Originating in the early 1970’s in either New York or San Francisco (let’s not even try to settle that debate), the hanky code is a system of signaling sexual preferences, fetishes, and roles by choosing to wear a specifically colored bandana on a particular side of the body. With just a glance at your rear end, (the bandana being tucked in your back pocket) anyone who is in-the-know will know what you’re “into!”

So how do you comprehend which color to wear, and where to wear it? The first critical variable is the side of the body on which you choose to wear your colors, because this signals your preferred role:

Left side of the body = Top/Dominant Role
Right side of the body = Bottom/Submissive Role

As a way to remember which is which, consider that we read left to right, so left comes first. Simila

Fifty Shades of Gay – The Hanky Code

Fetishes fascinate me.Actually, it’s not the particular fetish that I find interesting, but more the journey of self-discovery that leads a person towards a particular fetish.For example, there is a fetish known as Tamakeri (Japanese translation: ball kicking) Yep, it’s just what it sounds like; the erotic pleasure of entity kicked in the nuts.Uh… that’s a ‘hard pass’ for me, but I have questions.

How does a person with an erotic paraphilia (a condition characterized by abnormal sexual desires, typically involving extreme or dangerous activities) discover these desires? What was their “A-ha” moment? When does a man realize that he derives sexual stimulation and satisfaction from getting smashed in the balls? Was it a unpleasant bounce on the playground? An unfortunate ricochet on the tennis court? And once a man discovers that hammering his nut-sack turns him on, how does he find others who share this very specific inclination towards CBT (cock and ball torture)? Inquiring minds want to know.

Fetishism today has get commonplace enough to be considered cocktail chatter. We’ve been spoiled by the internet, which has taken the mystery out of almos