a good day for lesbians!

from a bbc online report yesterday:

"Three residents of the Greek island of Lesbos have lost an attempt to ban the use of the word "lesbian" to describe gay women. The residents argued that using the term in reference to gay women insulted their identity. But an Athens court ruled there was no justification for their contention that they felt slighted, saying the word did not define the islanders' identity. Greeks often refer to the island as Mytilene, after its capital. "This is a good decision for lesbians everywhere," Vassilis Chirdaris, lawyer for the Gay and Lesbian Union of Greece, told Reuters news agency. The island's name was applied to gay women in acknowledgement of the female poet Sappho, who wrote love poems about both women and men in about 600 BC. The man spearheading the case, publisher Dimitris Lambrou, had claimed that international dominance of the word in its sexual context violated the human rights of the islanders - who call themselves Lesbians - and disgraces them around the world. He argued it caused daily problems to the social life of Lesbos's inhabitants. But the court disagreed, ordering the plaintiffs to pay court expenses of 230 euros ($366), although they could appeal against the decision."

i refer you to a letter from the grauniad online, posted 13th of june:

"If the inhabitants of Cyprus are called Cypriots, can the inhabitants of Lesbos not call themselves Lesbiots to avoid confusion?
Francis Jones
London"

nu - problem solved.

puh-leez (part 43)

recently from the bbc:

"Lesbos islanders dispute gay name
By Malcolm Brabant

Campaigners on the Greek island of Lesbos are to go to court in an attempt to stop a gay rights organisation from using the term "lesbian". The islanders say that if they are successful they may then start to fight the word lesbian internationally. The issue boils down to who has the right to call themselves Lesbians. Is it gay women, or the 100,000 people living on Greece's third biggest island - plus another 250,000 expatriates who originate from Lesbos?

The man spearheading the case, publisher Dimitris Lambrou, claims that international dominance of the word in its sexual context violates the human rights of the islanders, and disgraces them around the world. He says it causes daily problems to the social life of Lesbos's inhabitants. 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. A spokeswoman for the group has described the case as a groundless violation of freedom of expression, and has pledged to fight it.

The term lesbian originated from a mythological goddess and poet called Sappho, who was a native of Lesbos. Sappho expressed her love of other women in poetry written during the 7th Century BC. But according to Mr Lambrou, new historical research has discovered that Sappho had a family, and committed suicide for the love of a man. "

not v. articulate at the moment but my most intelligent response to this especially the last part is yeah, right. don't these people have something else to do with this energy? i hear the nation of myanmar could do with some help ...