| From This Week In Texas Judicial
Three residents of the Greek island of Lesbos filed a court suit in Athens to stop a gay organization from using the term ‘lesbian’. The residents argue the word should only be used to refer to residents of the island of Lesbos and desired exclusive right to the name. The suit sought to stop the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece (OLKE) from using the word ‘lesbian’ in reference to gay woman. In a court ruling on July 18, an Athens court ruled the residents could not place an exclusive restriction on how the term "lesbian" is used. The court decision stated the word did not "define" the residents of Lesbos and could be used as desired by gay organizations worldwide and by the media in reference to gay women. The court also ordered the plaintiffs in the case to cover court costs in the case. "This is a good decision for lesbians everywhere," said Vassilis Chirdaris, a lawyer for the Gay and Lesbian Union of Greece, according to Reuters. "A court in Athens could not stop people around the world from using it. It was ridiculous." Dimitris Lambrou, who headed the group of Lesbos residents who took their battle to court, said they “want to end the insult our island sufferes through the use of this word in Greece and internationally.” The two women and a man asked the court to ban the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece from using the term ‘lesbian’ or ‘lesbians’. They also seek to have the word banned in the media in reference to gay women. Dimitris Papadelis, laywer for the plaintiffs in the case, says OLKE’s usage of the word “causes confusion by using a geographic term in connection with [the group’s] special character and social action,” according to the Associated Press. “My mother, my daughter, my sister are ashamed to call themselves Lesbian, meaning residents of Lesbos,” Yiannis Achlopitas, a Greek living in Montrel testified in Athens. “Our women abroad are forced into hiding… this confusion which is offensive to our place of origin is on the internet, in newspapers, everywhere, you can’t imagine the defamation in the United States, Canada, Australia.” The usage of the word ‘lesbian’ to refer to gay women originated from the ancient Greek poetess Sappho, who lived on the island of Lesbos (also called Mytilene) in 6th century BC. The residents of the island feel the usage of the word lesbian to refer to homosexual women is insulting to Lesbos citizens and hurts the island’s identity. One witness testifying in the case said the women of the island are embarrassed and afraid to call themselves Lesbians because they will be thought of as gay, according to WLOS.com. Evangelia Vlami, a member of OKLE, attacked the islander’s decision to file suit against them over usage of the term ‘lesbian’. “What will they do next, sue the United Nations?” Vlami said, according to Ekathimerini.com. “They too use the term lesbian.” The organization has accused the island residents involved in the suit of being homophobic. “I believe… the other party’s intentions were purely racist,” said Vlami. “They showed that what bothers them is a specific sexual orientation.” "The [Orthodox] church is literally out of control in its approach towards us, the media full of hate speech and the conservative government both hypocritical and indifferent," gay rights activist Grigoris Valianatos said, according to The Guardion. "This trial is a reflection of the homophobia that prevails in Greece." Lambrou, who has called on media worldwide to stop using the term ‘lesbian’ to refer to anything except residents of Lesbos, claimed the lawsuit is “not an aggressive act against gay women.” The residents who brought the suit are free to appeal the decision. |
