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).
Bob Damron's Address Book is also notable when referencing the Handkerchief Code. Starting in 1964, a businessman by the name of Bob Damron published a book of all the gay bars he knew from his constant travels across the United States. “This book fit comfortably in the palm of your hand,” a description reads. “Despite its petite size, this book was an impressive accomplishment. Each one of the listings he had visited himself. Every last copy of the book he sold himself.”[1] Bob Damron's Address Book also published a yearly chart for the meaning of each colored hanky under the title "COLOR CODES".[1]
Modern Day
editWhile the hankie code was a semiotic system of sexual advertising popular among the gay leather community of the United States[2], it is no longer as popular in the modern day era. It may be seen as a something kinkier to use in gay pornography, or at sex and fetish events like the Folsom Street Fair.
Modern Day
edit
While the hankie code was a semiotic system of sexual advertising popular among the gay leather community of the United States[3], it is no longer as popular in the modern day era. It may be seen as a something kinkier to use in gay pornography, or at sex and fetish events like the Folsom Street Fair. Social networks may have replaced the use of hankies in cruising areas by digitizing the process. By using online platforms, men who has sex with men (MSM) can eliminate harassment and violence that they may face in public[4]. Social networks for MSM also allow for sub-groups, and for people to list fetishes, and what they are looking for, which is where the replacement of the need for hankies may have come from.[4] Grindr is the most popular app for MSM who use social networks for cruising, with an average of 1.3 hours per day spent on the app per user[5]
- ^ a b "The Handkerchief Code, According to 'Bob Damron's Address Book' in 1980". The Saint Foundation. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
- ^ Reilly, Andrew; Saethre, Eirik J. (2013-10-01). "The hankie code revisited: From function to fashion". www.ingentaconnect.com. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
- ^ Reilly, Andrew; Saethre, Eirik J. (2013-10-01). "The hankie code revisited: From function to fashion". www.ingentaconnect.com. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
- ^ a b Filice, Eric; Raffoul, Amanda; Meyer, Samantha B.; Neiterman, Elena (2019-07-05). "The Impact of Social Media on Body Image Perceptions and Bodily Practices among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men: A Critical Review of the Literature and Extension of Theory". Sex Roles. doi:10.1007/s11199-019-01063-7. ISSN 1573-2762.
- ^ Jaspal, Rusi (2017-03-01). "Gay Men's Construction and Management of Identity on Grindr". Sexuality & Culture. 21 (1): 187–204. doi:10.1007/s12119-016-9389-3. ISSN 1936-4822.