http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080430/ap_on_re_eu/greece_lesbian_pride


"ATHENS, Greece - A Greek court has been asked to draw the line between the natives of the Aegean Sea island of Lesbos and the world's gay women.

Three islanders from Lesbos — home of the ancient poet Sappho, who praised love between women — have taken a gay rights group to court for using the word lesbian in its name.

One of the plaintiffs said Wednesday that the name of the association, Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece, "insults the identity" of the people of Lesbos, who are also known as Lesbians."

see the link for the rest of the article.
so if they(the islanders) win what do female homosexuals call themselves as they have embraced lesbians as their own?

Men?

...so if they(the islanders) win what do female homosexuals call themselves as they have embraced lesbians as their own?I don't know. What I do know is that the word lesbian has held its current usage and meaning since 1870 and no one has sued about it until now. They may as well sue over the fact that "left-handed" is sometimes synonymous with clumsy, awkward, insincere, backhanded or dubious. They'd have just as good a chance of winning that case. Suing over etymology is just silly.

well, as the islanders have been known as lesbians since about 700 bc they may have a legal standing. remember this is being ruled upon in the greek courts & they have made their own weird rulings over the years. maybe the female homosexuals can go back to being called sapphists as they use to be called. ?

The point, Martaug, is that you can't sue over the etymology that led to an alteration in the meaning of a word and also that, if you are going to sue, 138 years after the fact is usually a little late.

ah but drew, you know that in todays world you can sue anybody at any time for anything. remember we(meaning americans) had a gentleman sue God for causing terroristic attacks(hurricanes, tornadoes, etc).
not that i agree with them, however i can see their point, can you imagine the look at a party when the 6' guy says he is a lesbian?!?

I would tend to agree with you, Drew, which is why I'm surprised that the Greek court is even hearing the case. In any event, lesbians the world over are hardly likely to change their title based on the ruling of a Greek court.

This reminds me of when the Lewinski family sued SNL for a skit wherein they had a character "doing the Lewinski" (oral sex) on someone else. The family lost and said that under free expression laws SNL could comment on something in the public sphere.

I recognize there are huge differences here but the story just made me think of that.

If a different name is necessary, then maybe just go with the semi-scientific "homosexual" or the more vulgar "gay"?

It's the Homosexual and Lesbian community of Greece... doesn't homosexual cover women too?

ah but drew, you know that in todays world you can sue anybody at any time for anything.That is only partially true. Some jurisdictions in our country maintain a list of "vexatious litigants". These are people who have repeatedly abused the legal system, and those on the list are usually either forbidden from any further legal action or required to obtain prior permission from a senior judge before taking any legal action. The process by which a person is added to the list varies among jurisdictions. Even the United States occasionally tells people they can't sue anymore.

It should also be remembered that being allowed to sue in no way guarantees victory. For example, when Fox News sued Al Franken for his use of the phrase "Fair and Balanced" in his book "Lies: And The Lying Liars Who Tell Them - A Fair and Balanced Look At The Right" on the grounds that it violated their trademark, they were (literally) laughed out of court. Franken conceded, though, that if Fox had sued instead for his stealing of their idea to use the phrase ironically, they might have had a case.

remember we(meaning americans) had a gentleman sue God for causing terroristic attacks(hurricanes, tornadoes, etc).That lawsuit was a joke that was filed to make a very specific point.

You guys are asking the wrong questions. What happens when the residents of the lonely island of Rugmunchia decide that they want to take their damn name back too? Or how about if the independent principality of Dykos gets in on the action, or even the commonwealth of Bull-dykeistan whom, as we all know, have quite a history of militancy.

All I'm saying is, the floodgates could burst wide open here folks.

can you imagine the look at a party when the 6' guy says he is a lesbian?!?


I'd love to be able to say that. Can you imagine the possible comedic opportunities?

That's it! I'm moving to Lesbos!

Well, iirc the term for lesbians does come from Lesbos, and its most famous inhabitant - Sappho. It would be beyond ironic if the inhabitants of the islands had to change what they are being forced to change their name due to a group that, essentially, is named after them.

So have the people from Lesbos be Lesbians. They deserve it ;) But yes, there is some great comedy value in a guy say he's a Lesbian or talk about his Lesbian girlfriend.