A yellow hanky suggests watersports, red is for fisting, and brown – well, do I really need to spell it out? How they want to have it depends on the pocket: the left pocket, for example, indicates a desire to play the dominant role, and right the passive. Under the handkerchief code, a dark blue hanky in the pocket is a sign the wearer is seeking anal sex. “Gay men needed a method to communicate sexual preferences, a sexual semiotic was developed.” a language of winks and nudges that not only bond a community, but protect them from outsiders “The wedding ring, engagement ring, lovelier or pin are signifiers for non-availability which are always attached to women. “Traditionally western societies have utilised signifiers for non-accessibility,” Hal muses. The code was designed to surreptitiously let prospective sexual partners know what you’re into. Gay semiotics are described by Fischer as a series of “signifiers of accessibility”, one that gained notable popularity in the sadomasochism (S&M) community of San Francisco. ‘Gay men needed a method to communicate sexual preferences, a sexual semiotic was developed,’ writes Hal Fischer in his essay Gay Semiotics.
