Once upon a time, long before the age of texting, DMing, slacking, and emailing, human beings would communicate by letter, which they sent through the mail using something called a postage stamp.
Commemorative stamps have long been used by countries to mark a historic date such as an anniversary, or to honor an event, place, person, or object. Unlike definitive stamps, commemorative stamps are usually made in limited quantities and sold for a temporary period of time before going out of print.
Related*
The tortured history of the singlet: Hated by wrestlers & loved by gays
The New York Times once called it the “most mocked athletic uniform in existence.”
For whatever reason, male wrestlers have long been a popular subject for commemorative stamps in countries all across the globe. Interestingly, many of the countries that printed them don’t have particularly friendly histories when it comes to gay people–Russia, Cuba, Turkey, Poland.
While the governments of these places might’ve had (and, in some cases, still have) serious issues with two men loving one another in the privacy of their own homes, when it came to licking the backs of stamps depicting images of dudes ramming and jamming their half naked bodies up against each other, they were totally fine with it.
We’ve compiled some of the very best totally-not-gay vintage postage stamps of male wrestlers from over the years, with some dating as far back as the 1940s. Click through to see our faves…
FreddieW
Very nice. Thanks!
And reminds me again that I’m out of Harvey Milk stamps. I need to see if they’re still available before the rate hike takes effect.
abfab
Yes, thanks for that reminder. Ilustrations of men in singlets, all hot and sweaty, does make one immediatley think of Harvey Milk.
abfab
Upon further review, leafing thru my Funk and Wagnells, searching the shelves at my public library and OUTSPORTS magazines (Google), lo and behold! Milk was a grappler! Who knew.
Openminded
Come on Queerty, how can you claim that homophobic countries would issue “Gay Porn” stamps. Claiming that two men wrestling is pornographic just because they are in unusual positions and showing as much skin as the typical basketball player is about as fair and accurate as claiming someone dressed in drag reading to children in a public library is an act of grooming or pedo. There’s much better things to report on than sensationalizing something that isn’t there.
abfab
For some philatelists, this in fact is porn, albeit very soft porn. When will it begin to dawn on you that headlines, on the rare occasion…….utililize hyperbole?
Writers, especially the Gay ones, enjoy a flourish. They bring just a little more enjoyment and color to a story.
And please, don’t define porn for us.
Openminded
I didn’t attempt to define porn. The article suggested the stamps were pornographic. Writers may enjoy a “flourish”, but it doesn’t make it accurate or correct. I don’t believe Drag queens enjoy being “flourished” in headlines that suggest they are groomers. If media did a better job of reporting factual information there would be much less conflict and divisiveness between liberals and conservatives, gays and straights.
abfab
And you’re still holding out hope for accurate and correct? Another one who just fell off the turnip truck.
GayEGO
Oh my! Looks like some bottoming going on!
Diplomat
It’s those positions that tell you the artist was a mo w mo intentions. He got his message across. Hot.
MSM
You find live action video of college and highschool (for the pedos) wrestlers in very revealing singlets. Cut? Uncut? easy to see, You can almost even count the pubic hairs.
ShaverC
“For whatever reason, male wrestlers have long been a popular subject for commemorative stamps in countries all across the globe.” The reason, for most of these, is obvious. They commemorate the Olympics, and wrestling, is an Olympic sport.
There was basically no research needed to explain these stamps.
greekboy
Not everything is gay porn.
dali
3-Ajman State