Gay leather drawings

A group of well-muscled men in tight pants and leather boots openly grope one another. A leather-clad dude, ass snugly straddling his motorcycle, checks out a beefy stud heading into a bar. A pair of cowboys look over a strapping, shirtless cowpoke leaning on a fence.

Tom of Finland&#;s images exist in a world of their own making, one populated by impossibly strapping men always eager to indulge their many devilish same-sex desires. And today, more than half a century since Touko Laaksonen was given his now world-renowned nickname and introduced the world to &#;Tom&#;s Men,&#; his erotic artwork continues to titillate.

What first began as a series of drawings Laaksonen drew to arouse himself has become a universal symbol of gay male culture. You can find his perform on shopping bags, duvet covers, coffee, condoms, and leather gear, and in art museums, galleries, and no doubt in many a private collection. But what accounts for this continued cultural cachet? And what does Tom of Finland&#;s impact utter about contemporary