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Sappho (Photo courtesy www.english.upenn.edu)
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HOME > NEWS > WORLD
By: STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
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ATHENS, Greece (AP) — 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 in April that the name of the association, Homosexual
& Lesbian Community of Greece, “insults the identity” of the people
of Lesbos, who are also known as Lesbians. “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,” he said.
The three plaintiffs are seeking to have the group barred from using
“lesbian” in its name and filed a lawsuit on April 10. The other two
plaintiffs are women. Also called Mytilene, after its capital, Lesbos
is famed as the birthplace of Sappho. The island is a favored holiday
destination for gay women, particularly the lyric poet’s reputed
hometown of Eressos. “This is not an aggressive act against gay women,”
Lambrou 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." The case will be heard in an Athens court on June 10. Lambrou
argues that the term has only been used for female homosexuals in the
last several decades while islanders have used it for thousands of
years.
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