Today is the 103rd birthday of the man who produced art under the name Tom of Finland: Touko Valio Laaksonen. His work not only helped isolated gay men after the Second World War realize they had a place, but it also created visibility. His images, some of which are much tamer and less revealing than their heteronormative counterparts, were censored, banned, confiscated, and even burned. There was a time when it was more acceptable to show an actual photograph depicting a heterosexual woman being restrained against her will than a drawing of two men expressing attraction to each other. Sadly, as recent as 2019, the official Tom of Finland Instagram account was disabled for a violation of community guidelines. Maybe if the drawings of men were holding a box of diet tea? If you do not like or understand his art, it is probably because it is not for you, it is a good lesson in understanding differences. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://waldina.com/2023/05/08/happy-103rd-birthday-touko-valio-laaksonen/