Lesbos vs. Lesbians - who’s the real Lesbian?

lesbos statue What is a “lesbian”? The first definition that comes into mind is a “female homosexual”. Several dictionaries, however, rightfully acknowledge that a Lesbian is a “resident of Lesbos”.

Name war

The residents of Lesbos have had enough of this and don’t want to share the word with the gay community anymore. So they decided to start fighting the use of the word internationally because of its sexual content which disgraces the islanders.

Apparently the Greek government is so embarrassed by the general use of the term “lesbian” that they would be forced to change the name of the island to the name of its capital city, Mytilini.

So now judges have to decide whether the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece should change their name or not. Obviously the “fight” is not going to be a simple one as their spokeswoman is determined not to give up.

Origin

Let’s shed a bit of light on this. The term “lesbian” originated from Sappho, who was born in Lesbos. In antiquity she was considered one of the greatest lyric poets. The bulk of her poetry has sadly been lost.

Her poetry is centered on love and passion and many believe that she was, indeed, lesbian. However, descriptions of physical acts between women are few in her poems and all are subject to debate. Additionally, no one can say if her poetry was autobiographical or not. And on top of that, recent historical research has discovered that Sappho had a family and had taken her life for the love of a man.

Oxford Dictionary

In the 1870 edition of Oxford dictionary, the word “lesbianism” was defined as “sexual orientation” and had not been linked in any form to the Greek island of Lesbos.

Until the early 20th century the world “lesbian” has been used interchangeably with “Saphhist” which had an obvious direct link to Sappho.

Who’s the real Lesbian after all?

This is going to probably be one of those long debated problems which won’t be solved easily. The word “lesbian” originates in Lesbos but its sexual connotation is, rightfully or not, linked to the same island.

Remember that the majority of Greek population is Christian Orthodox and from the church’s point of view, homosexuality (in any form) is considered immoral and sinful.

Now it’s not that hard to realize why, even after hundreds of years, the Greeks want to separate the sexual connotation of “lesbian” from the “residents of Lesbos”.

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