a code is defined by Webster as a set of prearranged symbols, usually letters, used for purposes of secrecy or brevity in transmitting messages.

Hanky Codes

Colored handkerchiefs worn in the back pocket are a shorthand for sexual preferences, known as "flagging." Worn on the left, they indicate that the wearer plays the active role, and on the right, the passive role. Beware: the meanings of the minor colors can vary.


BlowJobs LightBlue	Fucking Navy Blue	TitPlay DarkPink

Dildos LightPink	Fisting Red	Cowboys Rust

BigDicks Mustard	W/S Yellow	Anything Orange

Bears Apricot	Bondage Gray	Rubber Charcoal

Hard S/M Black	J/O White	Shaving Red/White

Military Olive Drab	Father/Son Hunter Green	Spanking Fuschia

Shrimping Coral	Scat Brown

The Flags

Gay Pride
The symbol of unity in diversity was first waved at San Francisco's 1978 Freedom Day parade. The original flag had eight colors: red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, indigo, violet, and pink. Replica flags have six to eight stripes chosen from the following colors: red (life), orange (healing), yellow (sun), green (nature), blue (art), violet (spirit), indigo (harmony), and pink (sexuality).

Leather Pride
The Leather Pride Flag is a symbol for the Leather subculture and also widely used within BDSM. The flag was designed by Tony DeBlase, and he first presented the design at the International Mr. Leather event in Chicago, Illinois, USA on May 28 1989. The original prototype flag is now on display at the Leather Archives and Museum in Chicago.

Bear Flag
The bear community is a masculinist subculture in the gay community. Bears are usually mature gay or bisexual men with hairy bodies and facial hair; some are heavy-set, but that is not a requirement. Bears often exhibit an outwardly masculine appearance. Some bears place great importance on presenting a hyper-masculine image and shun interaction with men who display effeminate style and mannerisms.

Boy Flag

The Symbols

Lambda
The lower case of the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet was chosen as the symbol of gay liberation by the Gay Activist Alliance (GAA) of New York in 1970 after the Stonewall Riots. The letter is used in physics to designate kinetic potential. In 1974 lambda was adopted as the international symbol for lesbian and gay rights by the International Gay Rights Congress meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Pink Triangle
The pink triangle, or Rosawinkel in German, was sewn onto the clothes of homosexuals sent to concentration camps by the Nazis before and during World War II (1939-45). It was first used as a symbol of resistance and solidarity in the early 1970's. In 1975 it became the emblem of the Coalition of Conscience study group of the New York Civil Liberties Union, Starting in 1986, HIV-AIDS activists captioned the triangle with the words "Silence = Death." In 1987, the radical HIV-AIDS campaigning group ACTUP adopted the slogan, but inverted the triangle so that it pointed upward.

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