Hubba hubba. Tom of Finland on a stamp. That’s something even I would enjoy licking (although they are self-adhesive! Travesty!)—considering I’m a lesbian.
But for so many years I’ve enjoyed this artwork, even before I knew what it was, because of the strong jaws, the great hair and mustaches, the muscles. Oh, those muscles. And the outfits and boots. And, yes, other stuff.
While the U.S. just recently got its first openly gay person on a stamp, Harvey Milk, it seems other countries have put gay icons on their stamps for years. However, the Tom of Finland stamp is the first known erotic stamp to be printed. And Finland should be so very proud.
“The release of the stamps will coincide with an exhibition of Laaksonen’s work at Finland’s Postal Museum. To select which of Laaksonen’s more than 3,500 drawings would appear on the stamps, Posti consulted graphic artist Timo Berry as well as Susanna Luoto, the Finnish representative of the Tom of Finland Foundation, which is “dedicat[ed] to protecting, preserving and promoting erotic art,” according to Slate.