# Lesbians™ v. Lesbians © - The Ultimate Cage Match **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 3, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883 "2008-05-03T13:59:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/1 "2008-05-03T13:59:39Z")
So, interesting court case starting up in Greece: residents of the Island of Lesbos are suing the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece, trying to force the latter to change their name: [Greek Island of Lesbos tells Lesbians to change name](http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/1215/48/). On a variant of the “No True Lesbian” fallacy, the lead plaintiff is asserting that only the residents of the Island of Lesbian have the right to call themselves Lesbians. > [@](#): > > 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. > > In court papers, the plaintiffs allege that the Greek government is so embarrassed by the term Lesbian that it has been forced to rename the island after its capital, Mytilini. And it’s not just a hypothetical concern, says Mr. Lambrou. Over in this [article](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080430/ap_on_re_eu/greece_lesbian_pride_1), he’s quoted as saying: > [@](#): > > “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. On the other hand, he doesn’t appear to have any trouble with same-sex marriage: > [@](#): > > “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.” ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/2 "2008-05-03T14:14:42Z")
Lezbot is still okay, though, right? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/3 "2008-05-03T14:15:18Z")
Women who like women: Lesbians. People from Lesbos: Lesbosians. Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/4 "2008-05-03T14:20:34Z")
The lead plaintiff sounds like a lesbonehead. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/5 "2008-05-03T14:29:37Z")
I thought the place was pronounced “Lesvos” these days? The only way to make a B sound in modern Greek is to spell it MP from what I remember. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/6 "2008-05-03T14:34:15Z")
Serious question- What do they call lesbians in Lesbos? ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/7 "2008-05-03T14:49:27Z")
[QUOTE=Malacandra] I thought the place was pronounced “Lesvos” these days? The only way to make a B sound in modern Greek is to spell it MP from what I remember. [/QUOTE] :rolleyes: This is probably also true for the Greek word for Lesbian, seeing as it derives from the name of the island. So that doesn’t really solve it for the Lesvians on Lesvos. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/8 "2008-05-03T14:59:25Z")
And they can’t really call themselves Sapphics; Sappho was bi. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/9 "2008-05-03T15:02:53Z")
[/QUOTE] So, he’s okay with lesbi-, oops sorry, dykes, and same-sex marriage but says that this “. . . disgraces them around the world . . . .” and “. . . causes daily problems . . . .” and “. . . the Greek government is so embarrassed by the term . . . .” Totally open-minded I’d say. I understand that he thinks that Lesbos has a reason to sue, but by not making it about a simple statement of mistaken identity and adding on perjoratives, methinks it’s is about bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/10 "2008-05-03T15:22:26Z")
While I think the whole thing is rather silly I admit to feeling a little bit of sympathy for the poor Lesbians. I have to admit that when I read Herodotus or anything else about ancient Greece I giggle a little bit every time the Lesbians are mentioned. Yes, I have a juvenile sense of humor. I don’t think I’ve actually ever met anyone from Lesbos though. I can imagine people getting a bit tired of the smirks when they tell people they’re Lesbians. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/11 "2008-05-03T16:11:27Z")
Lesbians[sup]1[/sup] are not a new thing, why are the Lesbians[sup]2[/sup] suing now? [sup]1[/sup]- women who love other women [sup]2[/sup] - people from Lesbos ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/12 "2008-05-03T17:45:37Z")
I knew a guy in college. All four of his grandparents had immigrated to the U.S. from Lesbos. He loved to tell people that he was a Lesbian. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/13 "2008-05-03T17:48:50Z")
The Lebanese government has stated it’s staying out of this one. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/14 "2008-05-03T18:12:18Z")
Well, I guess if “Cheddar” and “Parmesan” and all these other location-specific products get name-brand protection from the EU, why not the island? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/15 "2008-05-03T20:26:28Z")
[QUOTE=Švejk] :rolleyes: This is probably also true for the Greek word for Lesbian, seeing as it derives from the name of the island. So that doesn’t really solve it for the Lesvians on Lesvos. [/QUOTE] What the {inappropriate-for-MPSIMS expletive deleted} did I just do to get eyerolled at? 😕 :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/16 "2008-05-03T20:36:05Z")
[QUOTE=appleciders] Well, I guess if “Cheddar” and “Parmesan” and all these other location-specific products get name-brand protection from the EU, why not the island? [/QUOTE] First, that’s all about marketing specific products with specific names. This is something completely different. Second, it’s certainly not all products named after locations, since I can get a hamburger made just about anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2008, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/17 "2008-05-04T00:48:49Z")
Or a frankfurter. But maybe not so much on Lesbos. ---
**Author:** ![kdeus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b487fb/32.png) [@kdeus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kdeus)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2008, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/18 "2008-05-04T06:14:48Z")
So, you’re from Lesbos? Everybody has “their joke”. My mom’s maiden name sounds like “ravioli,” and I assure you, she knew about it. This afternoon, I met several members of the Howell family who had just enjoyed a three-hour tour of the Norfolk (VA) harbor. You spend your adolescence upset or angry about it, then you get over it and settle somewhere between “it really is a funny, if tired, joke” and " :rolleyes: " ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2008, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/19 "2008-05-04T11:18:26Z")
[QUOTE=appleciders] Well, I guess if “Cheddar” and “Parmesan” and all these other location-specific products get name-brand protection from the EU, why not the island? [/QUOTE] That only applies to lesbian labelling liabilities. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2008, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883/20 "2008-05-04T11:24:11Z")
[QUOTE=Alessan] That only applies to lesbian labelling liabilities. [/QUOTE] Lesbial Labials, for short. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbians-v-lesbians-the-ultimate-cage-match/447883.md?page=2)