Queer Visibility Throughout History (Yes Homo)

Written by Cole Elliott | Illutrations by Kit | Layout by Saachi Kotia

Visibility has always been a very important part of the queer community. Whether it is accomplished in small, subtle ways or grand, flamboyant displays of our gayness, visibility has always been essential to our survival as a community. Queer people are stronger in numbers; however, it is difficult to band together if you can’t recognize other members of your community. Although visibility is necessary and important, it can also be very dangerous. As we all know, there are times when being visible as a queer person can put us into unpleasant situations; so, queer people throughout history have adapted inconspicuous ways to reveal their queerness to fellow queer people, without drawing unwanted attention to themselves from those who aren’t so accepting

Queer people have found so many unique --and honestly pretty random--ways to make themselves visible to other members of the community who are in the know. There are so many more than the ones that I mention in the article; these are just the ones that stuck out to me and that I was able to find the most facts on. Since queer history is rarely included in mainstream history books, what information does exist has been passed down through word of mouth and might not be completely accurate. Although I tried to find the most reliable sources, it is important to note that many articles I read contradict one another.

Another full disclosure: most of the examples that I discuss in this article are about ways that specifically gay men have made themselves visible throughout history. I tried my best to search for ways that other queer people presented themselves and their identities, but I was not able to find any specific examples. I recognize that gay men are typically at the forefront of most queer media and I am sorry to perpetuate that reality, but I still feel that these methods are still important parts of queer history that I don’t think a lot of people know about. My intentions in writing this article are to discuss the importance of visibility and to highlight certain unsuspecting methods people have used to make themselves visible.

One of the most well-known examples of how queer people decades ago made themselves visible is the handkerchief code. This secret code was used predominantly by gay men in the 1970s. They displayed handkerchiefs in their back pockets to announce that they were in search of casual sex with other men. The code eventually became so extensive that it evolved to display sexual preferences depending on which pocket the hanky was placed in. A hanky in the left pocket symbolized that the man was interested in a more submissive role, while a hanky in the right pocket symbolized interest in a more dominant role. The color of the hanky symbolized specific sexual desires and fetishes. For example, a light blue hanky symbolized interest in oral sex, dark blue was anal sex, purple was piercings, grey was bondage, black was S&M, yellow was water sports, red was fisting, and orange was anything goes.

Although no one is entirely sure, most historians believe that the handkerchief code originated in San Francisco in the 1970s when square dancing was very popular. It is said that there was often a shortage of female square dancers at popular dancing clubs so men would put handkerchiefs in their back pocket to let other dancers know that they were open to dance with other men. In this context, a red hanky meant that they would take on the following role and a blue hanky meant that they would lead. Over time, this code was adapted by the queer community and evolved into the more extensive code that we know today. In the end, this code was a way for gay men to express their sexualities in a way that protected them from the dangers that being publically out brought, while still allowing them to present themselves to other gay men with similar interests.

Another way that queer people have made themselves visible throughout history is through an innocent, unsuspecting exchange of a specific bouquet of flowers. Women during the 20th century would gift a bouquet of violets to other women in order to show that they were interested in them (yes homo). It is believed that this practice originated from the Greek poet Sappho. Sappho was a very well-known and wellrespected female poet who just so happened to be known to frequently have romantic relations with other women. In one of her poems, Sappho described her lesbian lover as “wearing a garland of violets,” which is why the violet came to be known as a lesbian symbol. Sappho is also the source of many other terms for love and lust between two women. For example, the term “Sapphic desire” is a well-known phrase to describe a woman’s desire for another woman. Not to mention, Sappho was from the island of Lesbos in Greece, which is where the term lesbian comes from.

When most people think of ways that gay people have made themselves visible, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the “gay earring.” Most of my life, whenever someone only wore one earring, there was always a debate about whether or not the earing was in the “gay ear”. I remember heterosexual boys in middle school and high school being terrified to get a piercing out of fear of someone thinking they were gay and them running around frantically debating with their peers over which ear is safe. Some would say that if the earing was in the left ear it meant they were gay. Others said it was the right ear. “Left is right, right is wrong” they used to say. The point is that it’s something that I think most people have heard at some point in their life but no one really knows for sure which ear is what.

Nobody is really sure where the rumor originated either. It seems to be that the rumor was less about subtle ways for queer people to make themselves visible to other queer people, and more of a way for straight people to micromanage self-expression. Many people consider earrings as being a feminine adornment, so in order to prevent straight men from getting them and discarding their masculinity, they started a rumor that having a single earring meant you were gay. And who would want that? Gross. Moral of the story, to all the straight people who might be reading this, please stop worrying about the gay ear, it’s not a thing. Feel free to get whatever sort of piercings you would like, because in the end, the way you choose to express yourself has nothing to do with your sexuality. Also, stop being so afraid of people thinking you’re gay, it’s homophobic. Spread the word. You wouldn’t be so scared of someone thinking you were gay if you didn’t think there was something wrong with being gay. Do better.

Not all ways that queer people have made themselves visible have been so subtle. In the late 80s and early 90s, many people started to care a bit less about who knew about their queerness. Some people chose to quite literally wear their queerness as a fashion statement. Gay men specifically would display their sexualities to the world by wearing something that has a very different purpose than as an embellishment -- cock rings. Gay men would wear these sex toys as necklaces, zipper

pulls, or even just stitched to their clothing. This was especially popular in club culture, but it was also part of street fashion. It gained popularity in the gay community after the unexpected release of a particular children’s toy known as the Magic Earring Ken® doll. In 1993, Barbie wanted to make a Ken® doll that reflected pop culture, so they went out to popular clubs and bars to see what the cool kids were wearing. Little did they know, they were actually frequenting underground gathering places for queer people. From that came a Ken® doll dressed in lavender mesh and a leather jacket with slicked back bleach blonde hair, and a cock ring necklace. Of course, the gays went crazy and Magic Earring Ken® sold out everywhere. Sadly, when Barbie found out why this specific doll was so successful, they discontinued it. However, despite its cancelation, this specific doll managed to become the number one best selling Ken® doll ever made.

I spent a lot of time debating whether or not I should include the next symbol of visibility. I was afraid to bring down the light-hearted mood that I was trying to develop for this piece. However, after talking to one of my friends who is gay and didn’t know about it, I came to the conclusion that it was too important to our history to not talk about. The pink triangle: It originated during the Holocaust as a way to mark people who were guilty of participating in homosexual activities. Queer people, if found out, were thrown into concentration camps and forced to wear a pink triangle on their breast pocket to set them apart from other “undesirables” who were being prosecuted at the time. This symbol was also used to differentiate between those who would be released after the end of the Holocaust, and those who would be sent to prison since homosexuality was still illegal at the time. The pink triangle may originate from a place of unimaginable hatred and suffering, but during the rise of the gay rights movement, the symbol was reclaimed by the gay community and its meaning was quite literally turned upside down. The queer community flipped the pink triangle upside down and turned it into a symbol of pride and unity. It also became the central image of the activist campaign of the consciousness-raising group known as ACT UP during the AIDS epidemic. The upside down pink triangle along with the phrase“ SILENCE=DEATH” became an iconic political poster that is still used today. It is even used as a symbol for OutWrite to represent our dedication to visibility and activism.

After doing all of the research on queer visibility for this article, I started to think: how do we as queer people make ourselves visible nowadays? Then I realized, we do very similar things to the queer people who came before us. We may not use handkerchiefs or violets or sex toys, but a lot of us have our own subtle and not so subtle ways of making our identities known to the world. I mean come on, what gay doesn’t have a rainbow UCLA sticker on their water bottle or laptop? Or how about some sort of queer pin on a backpack or jacket? Hanging pride flags in your dorm. Wearing rainbow jewelry. Graphic tees, sweaters, hats; any sort of clothing with queer symbols on it. Gay tattoos. A cuffed pants or shirt moment. People who identify as asexual wearing a black ring on the middle finger of their right hand. Aromantic people wearing a white ring on the middle finger of their left. One way or another, comfortably out of the closet or still figuring things out, visibility is a survival tactic. I know everytime I notice one of these small signs I feel so happy and relieved knowing i’m not the only queer person around. It makes me instantly more comfortable with a person knowing that we are a part of the same community. It makes me feel safe. In the end, being visible means taking pride in our identities and putting ourselves out there to the world. We’re here, we’re queer, and we’re not going anywhere. Get over it.