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Residents of Lesbos, Greece, Want Their Name Back

LibertySugar — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 03:00:50 -0700

Residents of the Greek island of Lesbos have brought a lawsuit against a Greek gay rights group, alleging that the term "lesbian" is an insult to the homeland.

The lawyer representing the three Lesbos plaintiffs says that the group's name — the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece — "causes confusion by using a geographic term" in connection with social action. The island does not want to be associated with the group's "special character."

It seems the islanders have a seriously uphill battle to fight if they are trying to reclaim the term "lesbian" as a geographical moniker. The ancient female poet Sappho, who hailed from Lesbos, lent the name of her hometown island to female-loving females, as much of her poetry celebrated love between women. Considering travel to Lesbos is popular among the world's gay community, it might be in the island's economic interest to embrace its homosexual association.

Source

Greece Grants Gay Marriages, Japan Awards Gender Rights

CitizenSugar — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:00:41 -0700

With a Greek mayor who presided over outlawed gay marriages yesterday saying, "The laws on marriage simply do not specify any genders. To me, therefore, if something is not banned by law it is not illegal," now facing jail time for his actions, Japan's government is actually moving toward broader gender ideas.

Japan’s House of Councillors (like the US Senate) has unanimously passed legislation which will allow people with gender identity disorder to officially change their sex, giving Gender Identity Disordered (GID) people the ability to change the way the world perceives them — on paper. To see how,

No Girls Allowed? Women Stumble On All-Male Mount Athos

CitizenSugar — Tue, 27 May 2008 08:00:56 -0700

Are there any ladies in the house? Accidently, yes. Breaching a ban on women dating back to 1060, four Moldovan women were dropped off on the Greek monastic peninsula of Mount Athos over the weekend.

The unexpected/unwelcomed female visitors told police they had sailed from Turkey after paying $6,300 to two Ukrainian people smugglers, and were unaware they were breaking Greek law.

The four women are aged between 27 and 32, (and were accompanied by one Moldovan man, 41) were discovered by the monks over the weekend. A responding police officer said, "They told police and the monks they were sorry but they couldn't have known this was a no-women area. They were forgiven."

It's a good thing the monks were feeling friendly! To find out why,

Greeks Quarrel Over Rights of Unmarried Couples

LibertySugar — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:00:50 -0700

In Athens, a plan to grant unmarried couples increased rights has upset both conservative and progressive forces. The government wants to grant heterosexual "common law" couples rights analogous to marriage, if the couples sign a simple notary contract. So you could have a legally binding relationship, without the big fat Greek wedding.

The influential Greek Orthodox Church equates common law relationships with prostitution. The Church's governing council is decrying the plan, maintaining that legal recognition of relationships outside of marriage would set off a catastrophic bomb under the foundation of Greek society.

The homosexual community thinks the plan must go further, to see how,