Touko Laaksonen, the man the world knows as Tom of Finland, didn’t just draw pictures; he built an entire visual language for a community that had been forced to live in the shadows for decades. Among his most enduring creations is Kake, the mustachioed, hyper-masculine protagonist who often found himself in scenarios involving authority figures, most notably the highway patrol. These weren't just random sketches. They were revolutionary.
For many, the image of a leather-clad biker or a rigid highway patrolman carries a specific weight. In the mid-20th century, these were figures of genuine threat to gay men. Police harassment was the norm. So, when Tom of Finland took those symbols of state power and flipped them into icons of desire and consensual play, he was doing something deeply subversive. It was a reclaiming of the "macho" image that had been used as a weapon against the queer community.
The Birth of Kake and the Highway Patrol Fantasy
Kake first appeared in 1968. He was basically the ultimate Tom of Finland avatar—confident, adventurous, and always looking for a good time. Unlike some of Tom’s earlier, more static work, the Kake stories were published as small, digest-sized comics. They had plots. They had movement. Most importantly, they had the Tom of Finland highway patrol aesthetic that would eventually seep into mainstream pop culture, influencing everything from the Village People to high-fashion runways.
The fascination with the highway patrol wasn't an accident. In the 1960s and 70s, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) uniform was a masterpiece of mid-century design: the tall boots, the tight breeches, the tan shirts, and the polished badges. To a young artist in Finland looking at American magazines, this was the peak of "manly" dressing. Tom took that uniform and hyper-stylized it. He made the boots shinier, the muscles bigger, and the attitude more inviting.
Honestly, if you look at the original panels, the level of detail is insane. He used pencils and markers to create textures that look like they'd feel like real leather or wool. This wasn't just "smut." It was high-level draftsmanship. Art critics today, like those at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) which now houses some of his work, recognize that his mastery of light and shadow on the human form rivals that of the Renaissance greats.
📖 Related: Howie Mandel Cupcake Picture: What Really Happened With That Viral Post
Why the Uniform Matters So Much
Why the highway patrol? Why not just regular guys?
It’s about the power dynamic. In the world of Kake, the uniform isn't about oppression; it’s about a shared secret. When Kake encounters a highway patrolman on a dusty road, the tension isn't about a ticket. It’s about the recognition of a peer. Tom of Finland’s work essentially argued that masculinity wasn't the exclusive property of the "straight" world. He showed that you could be tough, you could wear the uniform, and you could still be queer.
This was a radical departure from the "sad, lonely" trope of gay characters in 1950s literature. Kake never apologized. The patrolmen he met never felt guilty. They were just men who liked men, and they happened to look incredible in uniforms.
The Cultural Ripple Effect of the Kake Comics
You’ve probably seen the "biker" or "cop" look in queer spaces and never realized it traces back, in large part, to these specific comics. Before Tom, the stereotype of the gay man was often effeminate or predatory. Tom replaced that with the "Leatherman."
👉 See also: Austin & Ally Maddie Ziegler Episode: What Really Happened in Homework & Hidden Talents
- The Village People: Glenn Hughes (the "Leatherman") and Victor Willis (the "Cop") were essentially walking Tom of Finland drawings.
- Jean Paul Gaultier: The famous designer has cited Tom’s work as a primary influence for his menswear collections.
- The Foundation: The Tom of Finland Foundation in Los Angeles continues to preserve this history, ensuring that the Kake highway patrol legacy isn't erased by modern sanitization.
It’s kinda wild to think about how a self-taught artist from Helsinki ended up defining the look of American underground culture. He worked as an advertising guy by day and drew these "filthy" comics by night. He didn't even use his real name for years because it was illegal to produce this stuff in Finland at the time. He had to smuggle his drawings out to be published in the US.
Complexity in the Ink
Some modern viewers find the focus on police or authority figures uncomfortable. That’s a fair critique. However, context is everything. In the 1970s, the Tom of Finland highway patrol art was a fantasy of reconciliation. It was a "what if" scenario. What if the people who usually arrest us actually joined us? It was a dream of brotherhood where the badge didn't represent a threat, but a uniform of a different kind of club.
The drawings are also technically fascinating because of how they handle anatomy. Tom didn't use models for everything. He used his imagination, informed by physique magazines of the era. This led to a style known as "hyper-masculinity"—the shoulders are too wide, the waists too small, the muscles too defined to be strictly realistic. But that's the point of art, right? It's an idealization.
The Legacy of Kake Today
If you visit the Tom of Finland House in Echo Park today, you’ll see that Kake is still the face of the brand. He represents a specific era of liberation. While the world has moved on to more diverse representations of queer life, there is something timeless about the Kake highway patrol series. It’s about the thrill of the open road and the freedom to be exactly who you are, without shame.
✨ Don't miss: Kiss My Eyes and Lay Me to Sleep: The Dark Folklore of a Viral Lullaby
The impact on the art world is undeniable. For a long time, people tried to dismiss this work as "pornography." But as time goes on, the technical skill and the sociopolitical impact have forced the "serious" art world to take notice. When you see a Kake drawing in a gallery, it holds its own against any 20th-century masterpiece.
Taking Action: How to Explore This History Responsibly
If you're interested in diving deeper into the world of Tom of Finland and the Kake series, there are a few ways to do it that actually support the preservation of queer history.
First, check out the Tom of Finland Foundation. They are the keepers of the flame. They offer tours and have an extensive archive of original drawings that show the evolution of the highway patrol characters.
Second, look for the "Kake Anthology" books. Taschen has published some incredible, high-quality collections that put the work in its historical context. Seeing the drawings at their original scale, with the original lettering, gives you a much better sense of the storytelling than seeing low-res crops online.
Lastly, consider the "Touko Laaksonen" documentary or the 2017 biopic Tom of Finland. They provide the human side of the story—showing the man behind the mustache. It’s one thing to see the art; it’s another to understand the bravery it took to draw a highway patrolman as an object of love in a world that wanted to put the artist in jail.
The next step is simply to look closer. Next time you see a leather jacket or a specific type of military-inspired fashion in a music video or on a runway, ask yourself if you see the ghost of Kake there. Chances are, you do. The influence is everywhere, hidden in plain sight, just like Touko Laaksonen was for the first half of his life.