Do you know your hanky code?

As my mother used to say, those who fail to learn from history are destined to run for mayor of the meth capital of Alaska. While I’m sure the same doesn’t really apply to leather and kink, it’s probably in your best interest to brush up on your kinky history, especially since you’re on only the second day of Toronto Leather Pride.

Today’s lesson: the hanky code. It’s a way of letting people know your sexual preferences by putting a coloured handkerchief in either your left (for tops) or right (for bottoms) back pocket. Each hanky colour or pattern represents a different kink. I’m way too lazy to post the whole list (and believe me, it’s a LONG list, including houndstooth, for Christ’s sake), but if Schoolhouse Rock taught me anything, it’s that you can boil down complex lessons to catchy songs, so here’s Peaches to sing you through the hanky code!

Keep Reading

An illustration of three shirtless people with short hair holding each other with their eyes closed. There are hearts in the background.

I had a threesome with my monogamous partner, and it couldn’t have been better

There’s more than one route into opening a relationship—waiting for the perfect moment is a good way to start
Collage of photos including a bucket, ladle and brush on a sauna bench; feet resting against the leg of a person in a bikini who is sitting on a bench; and one person whispering into another's ear

The queer community still needs places for public sex

Sex party promoters, kink community leaders and educators refuse to shy away from the more explicit aspects of the queer experience
Illustration of an older person with their eyes closed, reaching toward a younger person with their eyes open and arms outstretched; both are floating against a golden background, surrounded by birds

What my trans son taught me about freedom

I thought I had to fight every day just to exist. Then my son showed me that sometimes freedom is quiet
Hands holding a smartphone; messages between someone marked by Pride colours and someone marked as a robot; a few floating rainbow hearts, all under a purple filter

Will AI companions usher in a new age of queer courtship?

Anyone in a relationship with an AI companion is already having a post-gender romance