(Greece) Lesbians, Lesbos and Dimitri Lambrou: Beware of Greeks bearing prejudices

As some islanders launch a legal case to prevent the name Lesbos being associated with lesbians, one writer objects to the objectors
Jane Czyzselska

If, like me, you're seething with righteous indignation about the homophobic residents of Lesbos, who have gone to court to get the L word banned when used in reference to lesbians, you probably have the face of Dimitris Lambrou, the plaintiff, pinned to a dartboard.

While lesbians in more than 80 countries are still denied their basic equal rights and more than 50 per cent of Britain's lesbian youth are bullied, poor old Lambrou and his sister are upset that use of the word violates the human rights of the islanders and disgraces them around the world. Clearly, Hellenics hath no fury like a lesbian scorned.

But beneath my own tut-tutting lies an irony that might solve his and some of our own privileged contemporary concerns. Lambrou may not know it, but some lesbians wish that they could scratch the L word. Often used pejoratively, the term shares an unfortunate phonetic similarity to “less than”, “loser” and, some say, an exotic venereal disease. When I asked a friend whether she liked being called a lesbian, she said: “No, I like being called Barbara.” When the writer Diana Souhami was asked by a reporter if she was a lesbian, she replied: “Yes, but not at the moment. It's 9.30 in the morning and I'm thirsty.”

Earlier this year, a group of lesbians unhappy with the antiquated moniker launched a worldwide campaign to have the term changed to “gayelle” a nifty combination of gay and elle, meaning “she” in French. Its advocates believe that a more positive and modern word is needed to counteract the negative legacy of the term.

If Lambrou and his supporters win their case against a gay rights organisation for using the word, perhaps there are some other islands that would consider sharing their name with us? My first choice would be the Canadian island of Princess Royal. If gay men can be queens there's no reason we can't have a bite of the regal cherry and be princesses. Butch and androgynous lady-lovers can have the Australian King Island. Or why not name and claim our own island as gay rights activists in Australia did four years ago? Uninhabitable they may be, but the Coral Sea Islands have been claimed as a homosexual micro-nation. All they need now are some lesbians to make house.

Source: Timesonline.co.uk