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+--- Thread: Lesbians -- They\'re Not Just From Lesbos Anymore... (/showthread.php?tid=13221)
Lesbians -- They\'re Not Just From Lesbos Anymore... - Narukami - 07-24-2008
This just in from Athens:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080722/od_nm/lesbians_dc
[size=150:3khqejdk]Court rules lesbians are not just from Lesbos[/size]
ATHENS (Reuters) - A Greek court has dismissed a request by residents of the Aegean island of Lesbos to ban the use of the word lesbian to describe gay women, according to a court ruling made public on Tuesday.
Three residents of Lesbos, the birthplace of the ancient Greek poetess Sappho whose love poems inspired the term lesbian, brought a case last month arguing the use of the term in reference to gay women insulted their identity.
In a July 18 decision, the Athens court said the word did not define the identity of the residents of the island, and so it could be validly used by gay groups in Greece and abroad.
The ruling ordered the plaintiffs to pay court expenses of 230 euros ($366.2).
"This is a good decision for lesbians everywhere," Vassilis Chirdaris, lawyer for the Gay and Lesbian Union of Greece, told Reuters. "A court in Athens could not stop people around the world from using it. It was ridiculous."
He said the plaintiffs were free to appeal the decision in a higher court.
Lesbos, which lies just off the Turkish Coast, has become a gathering spot for gay women from around the world, especially at the village of Eressos which is regarded as the birthplace of the poet in the 7th century B.C.
Several residents testified during the trial that the use of the word lesbian had brought recognition to the island and boosted its tourist trade.
(Reporting by Daniel Flynn)
What if Sappho had lived on another island...?
hock: :? oops: :roll: :wink: Narukami
Re: Lesbians -- They\'re Not Just From Lesbos Anymore... - Sean Manning - 07-24-2008
What if the Romans had decided to kill one in six of a misbehaving unit instead of one in ten? Sexemate doesn't have quite the same ring to it, but in that world it would be a thing of fear
On the bright side, the number of people worldwide who know that "Lesbian" is a Classical allusion must have at least doubled in the past few weeks.
Re: Lesbians -- They\'re Not Just From Lesbos Anymore... - Narukami - 07-24-2008
Good point.
:lol:
hock: :lol: Narukami
Re: Lesbians -- They\'re Not Just From Lesbos Anymore... - Libitina - 07-24-2008
That's interesting, I didn't realise "Lesbian" is a classical allusion. :lol:
It's a bit cheeky to call it an insult though.
Quote:Sexemate doesn't have quite the same ring to it, but in that world it would be a thing of fear
:lol: :lol:
Re: Lesbians -- They\'re Not Just From Lesbos Anymore... - Memmia - 07-24-2008
When I was younger I used to get the words lesbian and thespian confused. :oops:
Re: Lesbians -- They\'re Not Just From Lesbos Anymore... - Primvs Pavlvs - 07-24-2008
I AM A LESBIAN! (Spartacus)
Re: Lesbians -- They\'re Not Just From Lesbos Anymore... - Decius - 07-24-2008
great.
Re: Lesbians -- They\'re Not Just From Lesbos Anymore... - Artorius Maximus - 07-25-2008
Pity... they are bastardizing the real Lesbian (of Lesbos) identity...
Re: Lesbians -- They\'re Not Just From Lesbos Anymore... - Magnus - 07-25-2008
I'm a huge supporter of lesbians everywhere.
Re: Lesbians -- They\'re Not Just From Lesbos Anymore... - arklore70 - 07-25-2008
Well, I am glad that the courts have figured this out...
MIke
Re: Lesbians -- They\'re Not Just From Lesbos Anymore... - Jona Lendering - 07-25-2008
They ought to charge entertainment tax on lawsuits like that.
Re: Lesbians -- They\'re Not Just From Lesbos Anymore... - hoplite14gr - 07-26-2008
Quote:They ought to charge entertainment tax on lawsuits like that.
I support it on condition they reduce income tax!
Re: Lesbians -- They\'re Not Just From Lesbos Anymore... - Carlton Bach - 07-26-2008
Quote:That's interesting, I didn't realise "Lesbian" is a classical allusion. :lol:
It's a bit cheeky to call it an insult though.
Well, it isn't really, it's mock-classical. For most of European history, girl-girl action didn't really have a name other than whatever was locally used for 'impropriety'. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries developed a number pseudo-scientific or aesthetic terms derived from Latin or Greek, of which 'tribadism' seems to be closest to the ancient usage (though just one typo away from tribalism). Lesbianism (from a reduced reading of the poetry of Sappho) became common currency, but has no antecedents in Classical usage AFAIR. The classical meaning of 'lesbiazein' appears to have been hetero fellatio.