The Greeks called and they want their name back
Since the 7th century BCE, the Greek isle of Lesbos has been famed as the birthplace of Sappho, perhaps the greatest poet of antiquity, who is noted for her poetry celebrating love between women. In her honor, gay women adopted the label lesbians for their self-identification. I think most of us know that definition of the word.
That annoys the current day residents of Lesbos, who also call themselves lesbians. They are suing the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece, claiming their use of the word “insults the identity” of island residents. They wish the group to be barred from using Lesbian as part of their name.
“My sister can’t say she is a Lesbian,” said Dimitris Lambrou. “Our geographical designation has been usurped by certain ladies who have no connection whatsoever with Lesbos,” he said. “This is not an aggressive act against gay women. Let them visit Lesbos and get married and whatever they like. We just want (the group) to remove the word lesbian from their title.”
According to The Mercury, Voice of Tasmania, via Devious Diva, Lambrou goes further than that.
Lesbos residents now suffer “psychological and moral rape” from the “seizure” of their island’s name by gays, said the activist, in a text titled The Misfortune of Being Lesbian, published on his website.
Because everyone knows that being associated with a gay woman is the worst thing that could happen to a man.
The suit goes to court in Athens on June 10.
Via the Associated Press
April 30th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
I saw this earlier today. The article I read suggested that the term “Lesbian” isn’t even used by most of the inhabitants…..
Chicago called: they want their pizza back….
April 30th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Well, hmm. Don’t know what to think, really. On the one hand, I’m glad I don’t live on Lesbos!
Then what?
I love Sappho’s poetry. It’s amazing stuff. Perhaps she herself might say it best:
Although they are
Only breath, words
which I command
are immortal.
May 1st, 2008 at 10:34 am
A, I confess I mostly wrote about this because I came up with a cute title for it. Given the press it’s drawing, I suspect it’s a publicity grab by Lambrou. The quotes are credited to a piece on his website, yet I couldn’t find it through the search engines. If he’s shooting for 15 minutes of fame, he’s gotten it.
May 1st, 2008 at 10:34 am
Thanks for sharing that, Lynn. I love her poetry, too.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:57 pm
I’d say he’s down to about six minutes, twenty seconds by now.
I figure this can be settled Hormel-style. Spam, capitalized, is the food product; spam, lower-case, is the bulk of one’s email. Lesbian, capitalized, is a resident of the island; lesbian, lower case, is a gay woman.
Hey, it’s worth a shot.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:57 pm
I like it, CG!