Saturday, May 03, 2008

Lesbians Suing Lesbians

According to CNN, three residents of Lesbos have filed a lawsuit against the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece, the first gay rights group registered in Greece to use the word "lesbian" in their name.

At least one of the plaintiffs is male. Not sure about the other two.

The name of the association apparently "insults the identity" of the people of Lesbos. They're also known as lesbians.

But don't worry, it's "not an aggressive act against gay women," Dimitris Lambrou (one of the plaintiffs) said. "Let them visit Lesbos and get married and whatever they like. We just want (the group) to remove the word lesbian from their title."

But he also said: "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." (emphasis mine)

Why, exactly, can't his sister say she's a Lesbian? Does she really think people won't understand what she means?

Sappho was born in Lesbos, and yes, it's where lesbians get their name, but come on.

Should I sue Tampax because I'm from Tampa? We're known as Tampons (some would spell that Tampans, but this spelling could make me some money, apparently).

And if your sister is so concerned, why doesn't she sue? Something seems wrong here. A lot of things seem wrong here.

Lambrou also maintains that Sappho wasn't gay, though many of her poems refer to passionate love affairs with women. "But even if we assume she was," he said, "how can 250,000 people of Lesbian descent -- including women -- be considered homosexual?"

Newsflash: THEY'RE NOT. Sure, if you're that worried about it, you might have to explain a little bit, but suing this association seems like a futile gesture. The name is out there. Deal with it.

An Athens court will hear the case on June 10th.

1 comment:

kat said...

I grew up around a lot of greek folks here in CA (my godmother was greek, and my stepmother is from Crete). There are a lot of folks (asshole men, mostly) who are really "offended" by the appropriation of the word Lesbian.
They pull out all sorts of wingnut historians who claim that Sappho wasn't a "lesbian" (um....have they read the poetry???) and whatever else.

misogyny at its best, eh?

Another anecdote: another greek man that I know is actually from Lesbos. He really enjoys the befuddled looks from people when he says he's Lesbian. It cracks him up every time.