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BDSM Dictionary : Handkerchief codes: history
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This entry is part of the BDSM Dictionary hosted by Informed Consent.
This is the version from 13 Feb 06, 9:15 PM. The full history of this entry will show any more recent versions.
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Handkerchief code, more commonly known as hanky code, was a way of indicating, usually among gay male casual sex seekers or BDSM practitioners in the US and Canada, whether they were a top or bottom, and what kind of sex they were seeking, by wearing color-coded handkerchiefs, usually in the back pocket. These were worn on the left side of the body for tops and the right for bottoms (this division is still somewhat common: tops may wear keys on the left belt loop and bottoms on the right, for example).
The practice has largely fallen out of favour, perhaps due to the advent of internet dating and the coming out of more members of the leather and BDSM communities.
There is no universally understood color code, and there may have been regional variations. There was general agreement upon the colours for more common practices (eg: yellow for watersports), but there was no consensus for the more uncommon practices.Further Reading
(This entry in the BDSM Dictionary incorporates text from the Handkerchief codes article in Wipipedia.)
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