An image of Sappho?Campaigners on the Greek island of Lesbos are to go to court in an attempt to stop Greek gay rights organisation Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece from using the term "lesbian". If successful then the islanders may then start to fight the word lesbian internationally.
As far as the 250000 islanders are concerned they feel they have more right than gay women to call themselves Lesbians. Spearheading the case is publisher Dimitris Lambrou who claims that international dominance of the word in its sexual context violates the human rights of the islanders, and disgraces them around the world.
In court papers, the plaintiffs allege that the Greek government is so embarrassed by the term Lesbian that it has been forced to rename the island after its capital, Mytilini. An early court date has now been set for judges to decide whether to grant an injunction against the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece and to order it to change its name.
“We are Lesbians and we are proud” said Mr Lambrou “All we want to do is to look anyone in the eye and say we are lesbians without them sniggering.”
The term lesbian originated from the poet Sappho, who was a native of Lesbos. Sappho expressed her love of other women in poetry written during the 7th Century BC. However, according to Mr Lambrou, new historical research by Giyant Haistakis has revealed that Sappho was in fact a large man with a beard who had a greater aptitude for wrestling than poetry.
The real face of Sappho?
9 comments:
If successful then the islanders may then start to fight the word lesbian internationally.
Right behind them here [in a manner of speaking].
I'm not sure if they have much chance internationally
"Sappho was in fact a large man with a beard who had a greater aptitude for wrestling than poetry"
That's hilarious!
I would like to campaign to have the original meaning of the word 'gay' restored. It is such a wonderfully descriptive and perfect word that nothing else can come close to.
What folly. Is Lambrou unwilling to distinguish Lesbian (cap-L) from lesbian (small-l), and allow the latter to take on a meaning it has had in many societies for many generations? It would be as if members of America's Republican Party began taking exception to people's uses of "republican" (small-r) to refer to representative government in general. Good grief.
A Lesbian lad named Lambrou
Was sure he knew just what to do:
Say "ladies-with-ladies
Are lesbian?" Hades
Is his destination for you!
- SB the YDD
Amusing :-)
I'm with Liz, being of the older generation I often have to stop myself from using the word gay since people snigger.
We studied Sappho for Latin Honours when I was in last year at High School. What a minefield that was for the teacher in retrospect, all these inquisitive naive girls wanting to know background stuff but how much to tell them. We didn't even know what lesbian meant at the time.
I never thought about Lesbians from Lesbos having a problem.
The people of Lesbos do have a legitimate complaint given back in the first year of high school there was a greek boy whose mother hailed from lesbos....in typical high school fashion it took us about three days to cement "your a lesbian" as his name for the next seven years. Then again is a court order really goiing to stop that?
Thanks everyone. There is of course an element of spoof in the post... I don't think Sa[[ho looked like wrestler Giant Haystacks... or did she???
Oh, m god, Jams! This is so funny! :-D
I had a bit of a look-around at some of your other posts. I like the shots of the building where you worked. Good eye!
Gina
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