Tom of Finland’s Homoerotic Drawings Now Official Finnish Stamps

Tom of Finland, the pseudonym of Finnish fetish artist Touko Laaksonen, who helped define the macho gay subculture of beefcake men with hairy chests and throbbing cocks barely contained in their tight denim or leather pants, continues his ascent into the mainstream. Once restricted to underground porn, Tom of Finland's he-men will now be issued on official stamps of Finland.

Licking your stamps will never be as hot. You'll be sending your packages with Tom of Finland's packages. At least according to a report posted yesterday on Slate (link below), Finland is hard for Tom. "This fall, the country will begin selling stamps that feature the 'confident and proud homoeroticism' of Tom of Finland, an artist renowned as 'beyond question the most influential creator of gay pornographic illustration.'"

The Finnish postal service goes on to gush about the artist, who died in 1991, noting that he is "considered one of the most well-known Finnish artists around the world. His emphatically masculine homoerotic drawings have attained iconic status in their genre and had an influence on, for instance, pop culture and fashion. In his works, Tom of Finland utilized the self-irony and humor typical of subcultures. … The drawings on the stamp sheet represent strong and confident male figures typical of their designer."

If you want to learn more about Tom of Finland's art, visit Fleshbot tomorrow for a review of a new book of his comics, reviewed in this week's Dirty Words column.

Via Slate