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We love Colton Haynes. We particularly love Colton when he’s being unashamedly queer… such as dressing up as a Tom of Finland fantasy.
Colton posted a series of photos of himself to Instagram in leather last night, complete with a Muir cap and biker jacket. In case nobody got the reference, he tagged the Tom of Finland Foundation and included a couple of drawings (swipe left on the posting) by the iconic artist.
It’s unclear whether Colton was just dressing up for fun, for a fashion shoot, or for an acting role. His caption for the images simply said: “This film is not yet rated.”
Intentional or not, that was also the title of a 2006 documentary that looked at how Hollywood rates movies, exploring disparities between movies between big studios and small independents, and between straight and gay themes.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Related: Colton Haynes shares photo he spent years trying to get wiped from internet
Who was Tom of Finland?
Tom of Finland was the moniker for iconic Finnish artist Touko Laaksonen.
Laaksonen was born in 1920, and raised in the Finnish town of Kaarina. He began drawing erotic drawings of men in his late teens, before being conscripted into the army to fight in World War II. He says it was his experiences with other men at the time that led to him developing a fetish for uniforms.
He continued to draw erotic art, developing a stylized aesthetic: detailed drawings of men in leather and uniforms, often with hyper exaggerated muscles and genitals. He specialized in explicit images of bikers, laborers, sailors, and soldiers.
His work first reached a wider audience when he sent it in 1957 to the US magazine Physique Pictorial.
His erotic art immediately found a following, not only for the male beauty it depicted and photorealistic approach but also because his drawing showed guys unapologetically and shamelessly enjoying sex with one another. His men were often shown smiling and staring lustily at one another: a sexy, liberating utopian fantasy that most gay men could only dream about in real life at that time.
He died from an emphysema-related stroke in 1991, aged 71.
Related: Happy 100th birthday to Tom of Finland!
Return of Teen Wolf
Besides pleasing fans with his homage to Tom of Finland, Haynes also prompted excitement on the weekend by revealing that a Teen Wolf movie is in the works and due to appear in 2022.
Haynes first found widespread fame in 2011 by playing the role of Jackson Whittemore in the MTV reboot of Teen Wolf. According to Deadline, the show’s original creator, Jeff Davis, will be in charge of the sequel movie for Paramount+ and is now in talks with original cast members.
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Vince
Tom of Finland guys would never wear eye liner though. 😉
Max
nor that necklace!
IanHunter
You are correct. I was thinking the same. I am a huge fan of Tom of Finland and I don’t remember any femme in his art. It was all super masculine and raw.
acpp
Picky picky. He’s still blazing hot!
Mort
Where are the diamond-clip earrings?
gregg2010
Not even close. The only accessory missing is a wand.
BigJohnSF
Tom of Finland is most definitely gay – not queer in the least.
LeBlevsez
It’s so comforting when the manly-men show up to opine on fashion choices. And to so butchly cower in the presence of queerness. I feel safe now.
winemaker
Several years ago Finland released a series of postage stamps honoring Tom of Finland. As a philatelist I ‘ve been trying to get these stamps for my collection but so far unsuccessful. Every once in a while, magazines featuring his work occasionally turn up in gay bookstores, worth seeking out.
Kangol2
This photo feels more Helmut Newton than Tom of Finland, who, to his credit, disavowed his images of Nazi uniform-clad studs and made it very clear that he found Hitler, Nazi imagery and Nazi ideology “hateful.”
SDR94103
ugh, no.
rickywintour
Yes troll
leathergaymer
Who cares who he’s trying to mimic, all I need is him in more leather!! Looks damn good guyliner and all.