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I found an article on the BBC site a little while ago that I thought was interesting:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7376919.stm
"Campaigners on the Greek island of Lesbos are to go to court in an attempt to stop a gay rights organisation from using the term "lesbian".
The islanders say that if they are successful they may then start to fight the word lesbian internationally.
The issue boils down to who has the right to call themselves Lesbians.
Is it gay women, or the 100,000 people living on Greece's third biggest island - plus another 250,000 expatriates who originate from Lesbos?
The man spearheading the case, publisher Dimitris Lambrou, claims that international dominance of the word in its sexual context violates the human rights of the islanders, and disgraces them around the world.
He says it causes daily problems to the social life of Lesbos's inhabitants."
If this campaign is successful and we're somehow banned from using the word "lesbian" to refer to anything other than inhabitants of the eponymous Greek isle, what term will we use for homosexual women?
We'll still call them lesbians. Sorry, ??????, you may own the demonym, but the rest of the world owns the word from which it sprung.
I guess Sardinians don't like others being called “sardonic”. Nor do Laconians approve of others receiving the sobriquet “laconic”. And Bulgarians aren't about to lose their precious endonym “bugger“.
If the truth be told (and I think it should) there are far more lesbians in the world than Lesbians. I'll wager a good number of the former are oblivious of the latter. Think of all the signs in bookstores that would have to be redone to accomodate the new law, not to mention the books, the movies, the website gif logos… (not that I would know anything about the lattest). Anyway, folks, this is just another example of language gone awry. Personally, I'm not a lesbian, so I can't speak for the many who are, but this PC thing is getting way out of hand. Actually, it is, by nature, out of hand. Meanings change. Connotations abound. Denotations are a tricky area for blowhards like Dimitris Lambrou. I highly doubt that people generally mean any offense to the inhabitants of Lesbos (or Lésvos, if you like). After all, it's not like the tourism there is dwindling…
What Wordsmith said so well just now. That cat's long out of the bag.
And speaking of cats, should residents of a certain Baghdad suburb demand that we no longer refer to our striped ones as "tabbies"?
OT Condolence message to Martha.
I'm sorry to hear about Typo. My siamese 1 year old Tica (short for sympatica) has been missing for 3 days. I hope a coyote didn't get her. She's a kitty with an attitude. She doesn't think twice about going up to the dogs and giving them whack. I hope she didn't try that with a coyote.
Here is a condolence message Martha. I hope they comfort you a little as they did me to write one and read the other.
They come to earth to teach us lessons. They leave when they have taught us the lesson, not when we are ready but when it is time. It is our job to learn the lesson and honor their memory by doing something with the lesson. They live on through the way we use the lesson we learned from them to improve our world. Each time we do something wonderful in their honor, they surround us with a smile from the universe. Our hearts are with you and your loved ones, Puppy love from Joy & the furry folk
By Joy de la Ren
TO THOSE I LOVE ...WHEN I AM GONE RELEASE ME. LET ME GO. I HAVE SO MANY THINGS TO SEE AND DO. YOU MUSTN'T TIE YOURSELF TO ME WITH TEARS, BE HAPPY FOR THAT WE HAD SO MANY YEARS. I GAVE YOU MY LOVE . YOU CAN ONLY GUESS HOW MUCH YOU GAVE ME IN HAPPINESS. BUT NOW IT IS TIME THAT I TRAVELED ON ALONE. SO GRIEVE AWHILE FOR ME IF GRIEVE YOU MUST, THEN LET YOUR GRIEF BE COMFORTED BY TRUST. ITS ONLY FOR A WHILE THAT WE MUST PART, SO BLESS THE MEMORIES WITHIN YOUR HEART. I WONT BE FAR AWAY, FOR LIFE GOES ON SO, IF YOU NEED ME, CALL AND I WILL COME. THOUGH YOU CANT SEE OR TOUCH ME, I'LL BE NEAR, AND IF YOU LISTEN WITH YOUR HEART, YOU'LL HEAR ALL OF MY LOVE AROUND YOU SOFT AND CLEAR. AND THEN, WHEN YOU MUST COME THIS WAY ALONE, I'LL GREET YOU WITH A SMILE AND SAY "WELCOME HOME"
Author unknown.
The excellent Australian radio show Lingua Franca just did a show about issues surrounding the use of the word "lesbian":
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/linguafranca/stories/2008/2273968.htm
UPDATE: Glad to see the court ruled in favor of "lesbian," small-L. Whew!
As a friend of mine said, "Take it up with Sappho, people!"
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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