Flagging

Flagging is the practice of using the handkerchief code, also called the hanky code or bandana code, to signal sexual interests and preferred roles without saying a word. A person wears a colored bandana or handkerchief, usually in a back pocket, with each color standing for a particular activity or fetish. The side matters: worn on the left it typically indicates a top or more active role, on the right a bottom or more receptive role. The system took shape in gay male and leather communities in the United States around the early 1970s, building on older traditions of colored bandanas in the American West. It remains a recognized part of queer and kink culture today.