 |
|
|
Finding each other: a brief history of gay "codes" by Jordan Barnes
Throughout history, gay men have had to hide their sexuality from the public for fear of discrimination and hate. To protect themselves while still finding their own community, they would use different codes through their clothing to mark themselves for other gay men to see. And although these days a messenger bag might be the distinguishing factor between a gay and straight boy, it hasn’t always been so simple. It was really until the last 30 years that gay activism has been a part of American life. In the late 1950s and early 1960s raids on the underground gay bars were a risk many men and woman would not take. In 1959, somewhere roughly 30 men were arrested in Ann Arbor, about half were students and at least one of them a professor. Homosexual males were singled out by their stereotypical long hair and tight jeans. In 1969, gay patrons of the Stonewall bar in Greenwich Village took a stand against repeated police brutality, ushering in a new era of change. A new voice began to cry out (and they were not just screaming the lyrics Donna Summers songs). Gay and lesbian groups transformed into activist groups, working for an equal America. A number of these groups found a home on college campuses, a key place for protest with young liberal ripe minds for the picking. Michigan State University Psychology Professor Emeritus Andrew Barclay recalls these activist days here on campus. “In '75, the gay organizations on campus proclaimed some Thursdays as ‘Gay Blue Jeans Day,’” he said. “If you wore blue jeans, you were either gay or supported gay issues and this set off a firestorm in The State News. People were writing letters saying either they would or wouldn't wear jeans and how many people hated gays for ‘taking their blue jeans away from them.’” The point in making something less obvious, like blue jeans, a symbol for gay rights was to prove a point. These organizations were saying that coming out of the closet should be as easy as putting on a pair of blue jeans. Symbols like these are not at all uncommon. Wearing green on Thursdays was a way to show your support or show your pride. However, legend has it this wearing of green on Thursdays began as an underground way for closeted males to find others like them as early as the 1950s. Other codes for showing your gayness included wearing one earring in your right ear instead of your left. Unlike the others, however, this code persists today. The gay and lesbian community is the only minority community that has to find its own support group; it’s rarely born into one. Unlike other factors like color, religion, and ethnicity, homosexuality is something very rarely shared with other family members. When these codes started out, they were a way of both hiding their identity to the public that would often hate and ridicule them and, at the same time, they would let other gays know who they were. Now that the gay and lesbian movement has progressed, people are less afraid to flaunt who they are. Pride groups all over Michigan State University’s campus provide rainbow pins for their members who are both apart of the community and those who support it. Advocate magazine named MSU one of the top 100 best schools for college-aged gay and lesbians. During the Holocaust, homosexual males were forced to wear a pink triangle. This shape has now transcended the hate it was originally meant to bring and has become yet another symbol of pride for gays and lesbians. In the late 90s, these pink triangles were rocked as pins for a little bit of showing pride. Not all gay codes are just to distinguish gays from straights, but there is a gay hanky code as well. Men interested in alternative or unusual sex practices where hankies hanging out of their pants and depending on the color, can mean a person is into a certain sexual practice. The color navy blue worn by a person on their left means they like to be on top, while right means they like to be on the bottom. Other hankies can mean anything from being a police officer, to someone who likes piercings, to someone willing to be bitten. Perhaps the best way to show pride or support for the LBGT community is the rainbow, which has become a universal symbol for the gay community. There are parades in almost every major city in the United States during the summer and the gay bars are protected from raids against homophobic police. And although it may not be as exciting as a handkerchief saying you enjoy being tied up, it speaks volumes. |
|
