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Thread: Tom of Finland - Touko Laaksonen

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    Tom of Finland - Touko Laaksonen

    Tom of Finland (May 8, 1920 - November 7, 1991) (born Touko Laaksonen in Kaarina, Finland) was a fetish artist notable for his stylized homoerotic art and his influence on late twentieth century gay culture.
    At 19, Touko moved from his native Kaarina to Helsinki to attend art school. It was here where he first began to sketch his first homoerotic drawings, based on images of masculine Finnish laborers he had saved from an early age. Finland, however, soon became embroiled in the Winter War with the USSR, and then formally involved in World War II, and Touko was inducted into the Finnish Army. After the war, Touko returned to civilian life and worked in the advertising industry, continuing to draw on the side. In 1957, he submitted some of his homoerotic drawings to the American magazine Physique Pictorial for publication under the pseudonym of "Tom of Finland" to avoid scrutiny in his home country. Alledgedly, Touko chose "Tom" as it resembles his birthname Touko more than any other English name.
    Touko's work soon garnered attention from the gay community at large, and by 1973, he was both publishing erotic comic books and infiltrating the mainstream art world. "Tom" was best known for works that focused on homomasculine archetypes such as lumberjacks, motorcycle policemen, sailors, businessmen, bikers, and leathermen. His most prominent comic series is the "Kake" comics, which included these archetypal characters in abundance.
    In 1979, Touko founded the Tom of Finland Company to collect and distribute his work. This company exists to the present day, and has expanded into a non-profit foundation dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting homoerotic artwork. In the late 1990s, the company introduced a fashion line based on the works of "Tom", which covers a wide array of looks besides the typified cutoff-jeans-and-jacket style of his drawings. The fashion line balances the original homoeroticism of the drawings with mainstream fashion culture, and their runway shows occur in many of the venues during the same times as other fashion companies.
    Before his death, "Tom" was the subject of the documentary Daddy and the Muscle Academy - The Art, Life, and Times of Tom of Finland.
    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

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    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

  3. #3
    Guest Guest
    Interesting post Ichy!

  4. #4
    Screwtape Guest
    Those are some damn firm buttocks. Doesn't seem to be any separation of the slabs from that boot. No squishing. It's almost as if there was a natural boot-width expanse there to accommodate footwear. I suppose that would come in handy, considering.

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    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

  6. #6
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    I have seen his artwork before, but I never knew it was him. Cool! Another WIN for Ich!
    The most dangerous woman of all is the one who refuses to rely on your sword to save her because she carries her own.

    - R.H. Sin

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nessa View Post
    I have seen his artwork before, but I never knew it was him. Cool! Another WIN for Ich!
    Yay!
    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

  8. #8
    Kugmu Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by ichabodius View Post
    Freddy Mercury?

  9. #9
    thinkering Guest
    ToF makes me so proud to be a Finn!

    In other news, I want this "anatomically correct" Tom of Finland action figure.
    First thing I'd do, is rip it's pants off to check out it's "anatomically correct" peen. Ken has nothing on this.

    Edited to add: Is it just me, or does it's face look a little like our very own duster's? Sweet.
    Last edited by thinkering; 03-29-2009 at 12:31 AM.

  10. #10
    simon69 Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by thinkering View Post
    ToF makes me so proud to be a Finn!

    In other news, I want this "anatomically correct" Tom of Finland action figure.
    First thing I'd do, is rip it's pants off to check out it's "anatomically correct" peen. Ken has nothing on this.

    Edited to add: Is it just me, or does it's face look a little like our very own duster's? Sweet.
    For a minute I thought you were talking about me?

  11. #11
    thinkering Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by simon69 View Post
    For a minute I thought you were talking about me?
    If you're an anatomically (in-) correct actionfigure - let's talk.

  12. #12
    Northern Lights Guest

  13. #13
    Jazbabee Guest
    Never heard of him, but an interesting post Ich

  14. #14
    Long Gone Day Guest
    I love the long eyelashes he gives his guys. I think his men are voluptuous.

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    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by ichabodius View Post
    Portrait of Tom of Finland, photographed by Robert Mapplethorpe, 1978. Why am I not surprised?
    I am a sick puppy....woof woof!!!
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    Those are some large, hard nipples.

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    Quote Originally Posted by neilmpenny View Post
    Portrait of Tom of Finland, photographed by Robert Mapplethorpe, 1978. Why am I not surprised?
    At least he didnt have a bullwhip up his ass.
    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

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    I'm rather fond of Dolcette.
    A faulty hypothesis forming:
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  20. #20
    Elixson Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by ichabodius View Post
    At least he didnt have a bullwhip up his ass.
    I'm sure he got around to it among other things.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elixson View Post
    I'm sure he got around to it among other things.
    Anything that found its way up Toukos ass is infinitely more interesting than the stick up your butt which your posture has conformed to.
    Last edited by ichabodius; 12-12-2013 at 11:04 PM.
    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

  22. #22
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    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

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