The men in Tom of Finland’s art have always been the pinnacle of masculinity: bad boys, bikers, soldiers, jocks, cops, cowboys, leathermen, and lifeguards, all of them impressively jacked, impossibly hung, and ready for sex at the drop of a… soap.
But a recent Tom collaboration, a t-shirt design, seems to winkingly acknowledge that, for most of us, at least, hypermasculinity is just a pose.
The tees are a collaboration between the Tom of Finland Foundation and Lockwood51, the queer-friendly L.A. skatewear company whose motto is “Stay Queer AF.” (I’m being demure here; they spell it out). Lockwood51 is known for its punk attitude and for taking the piss out of heritage brands (and bands) by hijacking their logos and slogans for its t-shirts, skateboards, hats, and swimwear and putting a gay spin on them.
“Enjoy Coke” becomes “Enjoy Cock,” “Budweiser” becomes “Buttwiser,” “FAG” is spelled out in Fila script, and punk band Black Flag’s logo of four vertical bars (designed by artist Raymond Pettibon) appears sandwiched between the words “Big” and “Fag.”
You get the picture: The game is queering mainstream and masculine icons.
Tom of Finland’s gods of testosterone get similarly tweaked. On the new tees, available in girly shades of pink, baby blue and lavender, a familiar image of three leatherman has the phrase “Butch Please” slapped on it — a sly take on “Bitch, please.” — and an eye-rolling reminder that leather is just as queer as drag.
Strike that. Leather is drag. Just ask RuPaul.
The best part of all of this is that the Tom of Finland Foundation is in on the joke. The tees are authorized, and a portion of the proceeds go to the Foundation, which preserves and promotes Tom’s work as well as other erotic art and “promotes healthier, more tolerant attitudes about sexuality.”
What could be healthier than not taking ourselves too seriously?
Lockwood51 X Tom of Finland t-shirts, $38, tomoffinlandstore.com.
