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Left and Right

here is a widespread convention among Leather-folk that certain clothing accessories worn on the left indicate top, dominant or master, and worn on the right, bottom, submissive or slave.

The convention was widespread among the old guard leather community on the East Coast of the United States in the 1960s, though at one point the code had the reverse meaning on the West Coast. It also came to be used widely among the gay community, where in a "vanilla" context left would indicate the insertive "active" partner in intercourse and right the receptive "passive"' partner.

A variety of accessories have been used to indicate the distinction. The best known is a belt clip key ring -- other possibilities are loops of chain or cockrings (sometimes slipped over the epaulettes of a leather jacket). It can be displayed with items that have a link to more specific activities too: handcuffs, lengths of rope, whips, gasmasks. And it is also used in the Hanky Code system.

A less widely-known refinement is that wearing a bunch of keys hanging loose indicates you are available immediately, whereas wearing one inside a pocket signals you are not seeking a partner there and then. This system would resolve the ambiguity between the convention indicating merely a temporary preference or a more-or-less permanent identity.

The left-right convention is probably the most widely known of all Leather/SM visual codes, even outside the scene. In Europe in the mid-1970s, when single ear piercings in men were becoming acceptable to mainstream fashion, it was well-known playground lore that homosexuals identified themselves with a piercing in the right ear: 'Links cool, rechts schwul' (Left cool, right queer). Whether or not there was ever any truth in this, it is still the case that when a man wants to have a single ear piercing, it is in the left ear by default.

Today, when attitudes to roles are perhaps less rigid than they once were, and the need for discretion rather less pressing, such signals are not so common; and indeed with the general fashionability of items such as wallets on chains that loop from side pocket to belt, it is becoming more difficult to be certain that such a meaning is intended.

Hanky Codes

anky Codes have been around at least since the '70's, and is a way of signaling to others your sexual preferences and interests -- but tends to be inaccurate as it varies from city to city.   Although perhaps not as widely used these days, it is still a worthwhile resource -- among those who know, a great conversation starter. 

One legend is that the hanky code started with the 49ers in San Francisco Gold Rush. Women were scarce, and mostly men came to dances. In order to do dances calling for 'male' and 'female' participants,

The following codes have been adopted -- unofficially -- by the Long Island Ravens MC and are required knowledge of our pledges.  The more common codes are indicated by a #.

The Long Island Ravens MC Hanky Code