Visual Culture: Women's desire, long hidden in Finland, now printed on sheets

Finlayson, a Finnish textile company, has released a new home collection named Findyke, which boldly features designs directly illustrating female desire. The collection aims to bring female same-sex love into the open within home textiles, using "dyke," an English term for a lesbian, in its name.

The inspiration for the collection came from artist Alma, who felt that the depiction of women's desire had been largely hidden in Finland for a long time. The visual aesthetic of the Findyke patterns was created by artist and photographer Ano Miettinen. Images accompanying the launch show a woman looking directly at the viewer, and another image depicts two female figures kissing with their hands around each other's waists.

The collection's purpose is to make female love and intimacy visible in everyday home items. This initiative challenges the historical tendency to represent female sexuality indirectly in Finnish culture. The launch marks a significant step in openly celebrating and normalizing lesbian relationships through design and consumer products.