If only all residents on Lesbos are Lesbian

Reuters has reported that residents from the Greek island of Lesvos (Lesbos) claim to be the real Lesbians and gay women are not.

Greek islanders say gay women are no Lesbians
Fri May 2, 2008 5:04pm EDT

ATHENS (Reuters) - Some residents on the Greek island of Lesvos say they are the only true Lesbians and they want gay groups to stop using the word.

Several residents have begun legal proceedings and pending a ruling have asked a court to ban the Gay and Lesbian Community of Greece from using the word lesbian in their title.

Plaintiff Dimitris Lambrou says the dispute is over identity and not sexuality.

"We must protect our identity, the name that defines our origin from being stolen," he told Reuters TV on Friday. "Our legal actions have nothing to do with the sexual orientation of our adversaries."

Lesvos, in the Aegean Sea just off the Turkish coast, is the birthplace of the 7th-century B.C. poet Sappho, whose love poems inspired the term lesbian for gay women.

The island has become a gathering spot for gay women from around the world, especially at Sappho's village of Eressos.

Evangelia Vlami, who is representing the Gay and Lesbian Community of Greece, said: "We will be laughing in court."

"This is ridiculous. The term has been accepted by society, by scientists, historically, and by the United Nations," she told Reuters by telephone. The first hearing is set for June.

(Reporting by Deborah Kyvrikosaios, writing by Renee Maltezou, editing by Stephen Weeks)

I very much doubt that the dictionary definition based on common usage over more than a century will be changed. You can't stop people from self-identifying themselves. Besides, the Greek government still isn't able to stop those non-Greeks from calling themselves Macedonian.

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Today was a quiet day. Margie came over to take Kane to the vet in the morning.

Early in the afternoon, Brendan and Lavinia who work on the other side of the floor came over, bearing Indian food for lunch. They came to check the space in the garage as I offered to let them use it for their belongings when they go overseas for 12 months.

During the afternoon, I went out for a few hours to watch the football game at a club.