Take our game to find out what your hankie means!
When you signed up for LOOKOUT, you got a handkerchief that, no doubt, you'll use to stay cool this weekend while playing in the sun. But did you know that the handkerchief color you chose had a specific — and more intimate — purpose when being openly gay and finding a partner who was sexually compatible with you was much tougher?
Pick a side. Pick a color. Find out what your hankie says about you. The hankie code is a decades-old queer tradition of signaling interests, roles, and desires using colored bandanas. It's part history and part flirtation. But don't forget that it's all about consent.
Hankie code isn't a legally binding contract. Meanings shifted between cities, generations and scenes. These are classic meanings from the code.
Choose the color hankie you picked up.
The code changes depending on who you ask and when. Wearing a hankie doesn't obligate you to anything. It's a signal, not a contract. Consent is key and sexy.
There's no question that dating apps such as Grindr and Tinder have revolutionized the way individuals find companionship, but they haven't exclusively solved for one basic part of the queer experience: fetish.
There are apps that are geared toward specific fetishes—Grommr, for example, attracts gay men who enjoy the act of feeding people or being fed, though not exclusively—but in the absence of technology, "signaling" using certain objects takes its place.
One of the most iconic methods of signaling within the gay community was the hanky code, which emerged prominently in the early 1970s. Initially rooted in Western American cowboy culture, where men wore colored bandanas to signify roles in square dances, this practice took on new meaning as gay men sought discreet ways to express their sexual preferences.
The modern iteration of the hanky code is believed to have started in San Francisco, spurred by a growing need for clarity in a time when open discussions about sexuality were fraught with risk. According to Hal Fischer's Gay Semiotics, the code was popularized by erotic stores like The Trading Post, which began promoting handkerchiefs and providing cards explaining their meanings. A red bandana signified a desire for a submissive role, while blue indicated a more dominant position. Over time, the code expanded to include an array of colors representing different kinks and sexual interests.
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