Hanky Code Sighting! Philadelphia December 2024

https://www.straightdope.com/21341222/what-s-the-deal-with-s-m-bondage-and-discipline-etc

My beloved visited me this weekend. As the weather was nice and we hadn’t been in a while, we went to South Street. Brief history- In Colonial times, there were many restrictions on the sale of alcohol within city limits. So, just south of city limits people set up a street full of bars and taverns that were free from those restrictions. For a long time, South street was just another bad neighnorhood. Then, it was revitalized into a wonderful place of diverse restaurants and odd stores.

One of those stores is Passional. Passional sells various sex toys, fetish equipment, offers various classes, and has a bunch of fetish clothing on the second floor. While we were up there, I was stunned to see not one but two neatly printed charts giving the most varied and most detailed version of the hanky code I have ever seen. I should have thought to take out my phone and snap photographs. I did not for two reasons. I was in shock. I thought the hanky code had gone the way of cursive writing. I thought you just checked the appropriate boxes on Grindr or Tindr and met that way. Also, while the hanky code charts were not immediately obvious, the big signs prohibiting photography and video were.

Ah well, we’ll probably go back to South street in the spring.

Anything new, or same old-same old?

I’m not sure honestly. This is my first time encountering the hanky code outside of discussions on the Straight Dope and maybe once or twice online. I can say for sure it had more categories than any other version I have seen or been told of.

I suppose the posters are just a bit of nostalgia. Who would even know most (if any) of the code nowadays?

My daughter and several of her friends went to some concerts at the Chicago pride fest about 3 years ago. They didn’t know what the particular codes indicated, but grasped that variously colored hankies hanging from pockets were being used as an aid in pairing up.

Also, I play Minecraft with several gay online friends in their 20s and 30s from the Chicago area, and they were aware of the codes, although I don’t know that they routinely use them, if at all. They mostly seemed to be interested in longer term relationships, and felt the codes were for random hookups.

So, maybe hanky codes are still in use by the more extroverted partygoers, but not by folks who are more conservative relationship-wise?