The post office of Finland has announced 33 new stamp designs for September-October 2014, including three showcasing “confident and proud homoeroticism” as drawn by artist Touko Laaksonen aka Tom of Finland:
The autumn’s stamp series begins September 8 with Tom of Finland, who 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.
As The Verge points out, the announcement follows our own Postal Service’s gay news: A new stamp honoring assassinated gay rights activist Harvey Milk is coming.
In forty years, Tom of Finland “produced some 3500 illustrations, mostly featuring men with exaggerated primary and secondary sex traits with tight or partially removed clothing.”
Cheers to the strong and confident male who celebrated “strong and confident male figures” in the police force, the naval field, the automobile industry, the construction business and, of course, the traditional Finnish steam baths. This is amazing. (Images: Itella Posti, stock)
