Hankie Code in Leather & BDSM

The hankie code is a system of communication that expresses trough the colors of hankies (typically bandanas used by motorcycle riders and mechanics) what a person is sexually attracted to, and in which polarity, in the context of kink and fetish.

While nowadays colors are used without any meaning and only for aesthetic purposes, the hankie code holds a long tradition. Here are the hankie codes that were used, why, and a visual reference.

The importance of Hankie Codes, Keychains and more

Leather as a lifestyle started diffusing after World War II. At the time you couldn’t just go around town and sport out that you were gay; even less you could be public about your BDSM interests. At the time, you would have been jailed in the best case scenario, or sent to a mental hospital and forgotten there in the worst one. The standard gay society, on top of all that, was seeing Leathermen (together with crossdressers, trans people, queery folk and so on) as a dangerous, counterproductive negative element, as they were trying to fit in more and more in the eteronormative schemes to be accepted by society.

Leathermen didn’t have an easy life out of their Leather Clubs and had to find ways to protect themselves. We created specific codes to recognize each other and communicate efficiently our identity to the right people in our surroundings.  At the time it was perfectly plausible and normal to have a hankie with you, especially from the most rural areas, or to go with the maintenance of your bike, and more; so every color of the hankies had a meaning for a specific activity or tendency, and wether it was sported on the right or left it meant which side of the equation one would occupy; also, there were different meaning on how much tucked in or out the hankie was.

The same goes for Motorcycle keys and the keychain. Right or left had the same meaning as above, while keys on the back, on the side or on the front meant wether the person was actually cruising, if they had a place to stay or if they were looking for a place to stay; Wether the key was tucked in or out of the pocket also meant if they were looking at the moment or not. A more detailed and precise description of these traditions will be written in a dedicated article on this website.

Hankie Colors Code (and piping color code too)

While some of the associations have varied at regional level, this is the most widely known match of hankie colors and their meaning; worn on left, it means as the Top or Dominant. Worn on right, means bottom or submissive. There’s also a reference on Wikipedia on the main handkerchief Colors.