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In the film Cruising, Detective Steve Burns ( Al Pacino) goes into a store and has the handkerchief code explained to him by a hanky salesman ( Powers Boothe).
O'Donnell, Ian (9 November 2017). Justice, Mercy, and Caprice: Clemency and the Death Penalty in Ireland. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-251943-6– via Google Books. SMITH: Well, some time ago, I was… You know, I’ve been always taught about the white handkerchief in Othello. You know, Ayanna will tell you, that’s sort of standard thinking on the play. But it never really sort of sat with me completely. And so, a couple years ago, I was thinking more about this, and it occurred to me as I was reading the text, that what we found there actually was a reference in the play where Shakespeare sort of makes it clear, at least to me, that… He speaks about the handkerchief “dyed in mummy.” THOMPSON: Well, I think Ian lays it out perfectly, right. I think, our fantasy is that when someone writes a first-person travelogue, that what we’re getting is an actual representation of truth. But, in fact, no. What you get is a kind of recycling of older narratives that you already have in your head, and you’re kind of placing them onto the new environment that you’re experiencing. And I think that plays out in the plays in really fascinating ways. And, especially, in the ways that Shakespeare, I think, tries to shake up certain audience expectations regarding race and then, kind of, fulfills them over and over again, in many different ways. The hanky code has recently undergone a revival and while the use of handkerchiefs may not be as prevalent, the hanky colours are a common consideration in the choice of leather and fetish gear colour. [9] It should not, however, always be assumed this is the case and is best used as a conversation starter rather than a certain indication of sexual preferences. What is astounding to me is that that sort of very narrow thinking somehow did not and does not give due credence to the fact that there are patterns of behavior and sort of practices that Shakespeare was clearly calling attention to, to which we may give the term “race.” But, the patterns of behavior are still very much recognizable. And so, to quibble over the term “race” itself in that very narrow way, I think, is to try to use historical accuracy as a kind of moral high ground from which to really delegitimize race work and to silence others from doing that kind of work.And so, to assume that it means something very negative, I think, is by definition a sort of curious resistance to confronting and facing a history of relationships. Which, by virtue of what Ayanna is saying, Shakespeare gives us a wide audience, gives us a sort of wide playing field, in which multiple constituents might come together. And, instead, what we find is this real fear to not have that verbal play, that intellectual play.
The question for me, really, is whether Shakespeare, the cultural weight of Shakespeare’s fame, gets in the way of talking about race in a productive fashion. And I think this is something that’s been hard to have a real conversation about with other Shakespeareans and with practitioners, with actors and directors, because they all want to make it very relevant and make it meaningful for their audiences, whether your audience is a student, a fellow scholar, or, you know, actual theater audiences. With the advent of the internet, people were better able to connect and explore, express and discover new or existing fetishes.The hanky code expanded to encompass these fetishes, communicating interests through new colors and even new fabrics, such as leather or lace. The color system has also expanded beyond hankies to other accessories. It is not uncommon to have harnesses, singlets, or leather articles in a color derived from the hanky code to indicate a desirable fetish or sexual interest. Sociological Aspect Far later, in 1970s New York, it was common practice for men to wear their keys on the left or right to signify if they were a ‘top’ or ‘bottom’. A writer for the Village Voice joked about using different-coloured hankies to display their sexual preferences, and the idea caught on.
Jordan, Hugh (14 October 2011). Milestones in Murder: Defining Moments in Ulster's Terror War. Random House. ISBN 9781780573748– via Google Books. SMITH: I think that’s quite right. And also, what it implies, therefore, is, as you just said, that Shakespeare’s name comes with this sort of, very positive sort of valence. What that also then underscores, is that for some people to attach race to Shakespeare makes race something negative. That, by definition, race is something that’s going to somehow dirty or muddy the Shakespeare waters. When, race per se is not something dirty or negative. Race is about a study of relationships, about how people interact with each other. That’s what race is about, fundamentally.
Also known as flagging, the handkerchief code involves wearing a hankie or bandana in a specific colour to nonverbally communicate. Ayanna Thompson is professor of English at George Washington University and Ian Smith is professor of English at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. Their thoughts on race, history, and theatrical practice may leave you looking at Othello in an entirely new way. Ayanna and Ian are interviewed by Barbara Bogaev.BOGAEV: And a corrective in that, people talk about Othello being about race, obviously. There are a lot of references to race or to color, and he was going to correct this simplistic reading? This podcast, “Teach Him How To Tell My Story,” was produced by Richard Paul. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster and Esther Ferington. We had help from Tobey Shreiner at WAMU-FM in Washington, DC, Neil Hever at radio station WDIY in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Jeff Peters at Marketplace in Los Angeles. Glymond, Joanne. "Judicial robes belonging to The Right Honorable Turlough O'Donnell Q.C." www.newry.ie. BOGAEV: Ayanna, jump in here. Is this your experience as well of Shakespeare in academia or in circles where you’re talking about Othello?
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