FINLAND TO RELEASE TOM OF FINLAND STAMPS

Who said stamp collecting was a boring pastime? Finland is set to release a set of homoerotic stamps commemorating the iconic gay fetish artist Tom of Finland.

According to a press release by Itella Posti, the Finish postal service, the three stamps will be released in September.

Itella said that the stamps will honour “one of the most well-known Finnish artists around the world” who was recognised for his “emphatically masculine homoerotic drawings.”

One of the stamps, described as depicting “confident and proud homoeroticism”, will feature a man’s naked rear; possibly a first in the stamp world.

“The sheet portrays a sensual life force and being proud of oneself. There is never too much of that in this northern country,” said graphic artist Timo Berry, who selected the drawings and designed the stamp sheet.

The artist behind Tom of Finland was Touko Laaksonen (1920-1991), who produced more than 3,500 drawings. They had a significant impact on gay culture as well as on more mainstream pop culture and fashion.

In other related philatelic news, earlier this month, the US Postal Service revealed a much more demure design for its first stamp of an openly gay politician, the iconic Harvey Milk.