I was chilling at the gay bar years ago when I noticed that more than one person had a handkerchief hanging from their back pocket. I overheard someone ask, “are you flagging?” while I stood awkwardly to the side, definitely thinking I was subtle when I’m sure it was obvious I was listening in on their conversation. Anyways, I promptly googled “the hanky code” when I got home from the bar and bought a certain handkerchief of a certain color so I could get in on this underground club.
Do you remember the first non-verbal ~thing~ that made you look at someone and realize they were probably queer? Or give the dyke nod as you pass each other at the airport without exchanging a word? Was it their hair cut? Fashion choice? A giant rainbow “I’M GAY” printed on their sweatshirt? A swagger, a certain shade of red lipstick, a carabiner of keys, or a tattoo? Some queer band blasting from their headphones, a single dangling earring, a Tegan and Sara shirt perhaps?
Honestly, we all know it’s more of a vibe than anything physical, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be obsessed with how we express our queerness/sexuality/gender in ways that aren’t us stating bluntly: “I’m in the club, if ya get my drift.” So here’s a quiz about various non-verbal (visual! written! music! etc!) ways we communicate our queerness. Tell me your score in the comments, and share your favorite queer clues, too!
I SEE U
The only reason that I got the monocle one was because of “One Day at a Time”.
I came to say the same thing!!! Can’t wait for more of that show.
Flunked
Quiz Grade: E
Score: 6
Percentage: 40%
I believe that at 13% I flunked harder than the probability of getting things right by picking answers at random.
#singleforever
D is for Disappoint!
Quiz Grade: D
Score: 10
Percentage: 67%
Quiz Grade: E
Score: 3
Percentage: 20%
Holy wow I did not know ANY of this but it was all super interesting!
If I very purposefully have a nautical star tattoo on my inner wrist does that somehow make up for my abysmal score
yes.
Are you a Ravenclaw?
Gryffindor :)
Than yes, it does. (I’m sure that Dumbledore will award you full points. Not like us Slytherins. We have to work for it, and then have him steal it from us and give it to you Gryffindors. *Grump*)
Is it just nautical stars? My bby undergrad self got a blue star on my wrist and I’m trying to find what I read about it back in the day.
There’s been a lot written about blue stars being a coded signifier, too. (My nautical star is blue, so I prob read the same thing you did.)
*solidarity fistbump*
I got a 40% which is terrible but also fine because now I have so many delightful queer things to google at work instead of talking to customers!
yesssss!!!
This is the worst I’ve done on a quiz so far but I love all the answers so much that I didn’t even realize I’d failed haha
Nice work!
Quiz Grade: D
Score: 9
Percentage: 60%
…which sounds about right, since I have no gaydar and suck at identifying queer signifiers. Good Nerd, bad Lesbian.
I BOMBED!! this thing. Wow.
Quiz Grade: E
Score: 7
Percentage: 47%
D 67% :(
BUT I definitely got the one about The Ladder right, even though it wasn’t “the first lesbian magazine” like the question said (well ok first national distribution). Vice Versa by Lisa Ben was the first technically!
I didn’t know any off these and whatever I got right was 100% a guess.
Very disappointed in myself for only getting 9 (almost 10) but it looks like so far none much better so I guess it’s ok even though I usually pride myself on this knowledge…
Hold on, how are plaid and flannel not the same??
Flannel is a material and plaid is a pattern?
flannel refers to a specific type of woven fabric, plaid is just the pattern that tends to decorate our flannel shirts but both can exist without the other
Flannel is a material–think about it, (if you are in an environment that has like actual cold winter) flannel sheets are generally solid colors like any other sheet and not plaid. I mean. I’d actually genuinely buy the heck out of several sets of plaid flannel sheets because I have neither enough flannel nor plaid in my life (and also need multiple sheets for those occasions my cat or (thankfully much more rarely my dog bc he’s like 65 pounds and produces MUCH MORE VOLUME to clean up there than the cats) pukes on my sheets in the middle of the night bc I still need something to cover my mattress for sleeping).
Ok but like I know there’s a TECHNICAL difference but if I were to say “oh yeah I’m wearing my flannel and jeans” would you not say I like 99% chance mean I’m wearing plaid flannel?
Well yes but there’s also a 99% chance that your jeans would be blue, and I wouldn’t call those the same thing either
80%
I was definitely better at the pre-1960 trivia.
Can’t believe I missed Wild Side West! I haven’t been in years, but it always felt like a neighborhood bar owned by lesbians and not specifically a queer bar. Loved hanging out back among the discarded toilets/planters with my WSW-sponsered basketball team, the Half Pints. Since you asked, yes we were the shortest team in the league.
40%?!? Back in highschool this would have made me cry!
I need to study my gay history!
I got 4 right, watch out everybody there’s a new sheriff in town
niiice
Quiz Grade: E
Score: 6
Percentage: 40%
but on the plus side i am learning SO MUCH from these!!! thank you!!!
40%! FANTASTIC
I am doing so well at all of these quizzes that perhaps I should rethink my sexuality?? :P
47% SOLID thanks. I found these questions like wildly easy or wildly impossible and I was just guessing wildly. I know my gaydar needs work but my historical gaydar is evidently pretty much in need of a complete rebuild I guess. Well. Is it a rebuild if you never had it in the first place? Build it ground up?
Nice work!
Quiz Grade: E
Score: 7
Percentage: 47%
I like the false compliment on the failing grade. Hahaha! Ah, well, there’s always room for improvement. :)
27%, LOVED THIS QUIZ, I am going to start finger flagging properly.
I got:
Quiz Grade: D
Score: 10
Percentage: 67%
I did better than I thought I would considering I mostly guessed!
I am so bad at all of these trivia quizzes.
Quiz Grade: E
Score: 8
Percentage: 53%
I was in college in the late ‘90s/early ‘00s so my signifiers were baggy jeans (preferably button fly) and “wife beater” tanks. (Is there a better term for those? That’s what we called them at the time but in retrospect it’s terrible.) Also if you wore your watch with the face on the inside of your wrist. IDK where that even came from but it was a thing.
I seriously sucked at that. But as mentioned in a previous comment, lots of fun things to google now!
Quiz Grade: E
Score: 6
Percentage: 40%
*** Does this mean I’m only 60% straight? ‘Cos yeah, that sounds about right.