If a woman says, "I'm a lesbian," most people would assume she's making a statement about her sexual orientation, not declaring she is a resident of the Greek island of Lesbos. That's something a few Lesbians (capital L, denoting geography after this mention) would like to change, as three Greeks are taking the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece (OLKE) to court to demand the removal of the word "lesbian" from the group's name.
The term derives from the island's most famous inhabitant, the ancient Greek love poet Sappho whose poems described infatuation with women. Plaintiff--and Lesbian--Dimitris Lambrou told a judge:
Our geographical designation has been usurped by certain ladies who have no connection whatsoever with Lesbos...[This lawsuit] is not an aggressive act against gay women.
Since Sappho lived some 2,600 years ago, one wonders why this has become an issue now. The word "lesbian" with the definition related to sexual orientation, not geographical locale, was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 1890.
We may be seasoned travelers, but there are a few things we just can't resist--like this just released trailer for the new "Mamma Mia!" movie musical. It's not just that we love the film's stars Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski, Pierce Brosnan, and so on. We're absolutely in love with the locations!
While the musical is set "on a mythical isle," the film was shot on several Greek islands with harmonious names like Skiathos and Skopelos, where the film's protagonista (Seyfried) grew up with her free-spirit mom (Streep) and plans to wed.
Will the success of this year's "Hairspray" cause a run on travel to Greece, despite the strength of the Euro? We can't wait to find out.
The folks over at Globorati, a most excellent luxury travel blog, let us know about a gay nude luxury voyage set for this May, complete with plenty of, um, gadgets, of course.
Sail into uncharted waters aboard a luxury Windstar yacht replete with flat-screen TVs and iPods for 148 guests who'll visit ports in Rome, Athens, Sorrento and Mykonos. Just imagine a gaycation without the attitude.
Yup, there it is, plain as day in the website's disclaimer--This voyage is for men who enjoy sailing nude.
The cruise organizers also promise "an Internet Café steps from the Roman ruins".
Gaycations, social networking cruises, and the possibility of clothes free wireless--sounds like Homorati 2.0 has arrived.
Headed to Greece this summer, but unsure of upon which pristine island beach you want to pass out? Head over to GreekTravel.com, an extensive site helmed by Matt Barrett, who has been living in country since 1968. It's got all the Hellenic travel info you could ever hope to need.
The site's not the prettiest, but we suppose old web page design is in keeping with a country that has such a long history. Still, there's plenty of areas of expertise to choose from: Sections include an Island synopsis page and a survival guide to Athens (sample tip: How to order a double espresso). Our personal favorite, though, is the guide to using a stroller in Athens. Remember--flinch and you lose right of way.
Over the last 120 years, Greece has been a country of significant emigration -- to North America, Western Europe, and Australia, among other countries. Since 1990, however, Greece has quite quickly transformed from a country with very few immigrants to a multiethnic country. Over half of this wave of immigrants to Greece comes from Albania, with Bulgarians and Romanians also contributing significant, though much smaller, numbers.
In addition to this immigration flow, 150,000 ethnic Greeks from the former Soviet Union have moved to Greece since the late 1970s. Furthermore, many Greeks who emigrated during harder economic times have returned as retirees. All these influx routes make for dramatic population changes. Immigrants are estimated to make up about 10% of the Greek population today.
In cosmopolitan Athens, the verdict seems mostly positive. We met a fourth-grade teacher who works for a school in a heavily immigrant neighborhood. He raves about his children, 20 of 21 of whom are of immigrant backgrounds, and seems enthused about the immigration-fueled boldness of contemporary Greek society.
There are shards of ambivalence as well, of course. Parts of the Greek media have engaged in a scapegoating form of immigrant stereotyping, focused in particular on Albanians. One hotel proprietor we met slyly made it clear that she doesn't allow Albanians and Bulgarians to stay in her rooms.
The Eurovision updates stacked on press centre tables are kitsch heaven.
One, titled "SPAIN IMPRESSED WITH GREEK HOSPITALITY," quotes Las Ketchup, the Spanish entry (yes, the lasses who sang "The Ketchup Song" a few years ago) with the following:
Well, we were obviously expecting a huge production and we've not been disappointed. But what's taken us by surprise is how friendly people have been--and that means everyone from the production crew to the press.
Finally, a breakthrough in that impasse of Spanish-Greek relations! Citizens of countries along the southern edge of the European Union can sleep soundly tonight.
Another press release, titled FABRIZIO OF MALTA READY TO HAVE FUN has Malta's Fabrizio Faniello reflecting on a good rehearsal:
I really enjoyed it and I think we all felt amazing actually. We're getting ready to really have fun on the big night. Let's face it, that's why we're all here.
Americans don't really understand Eurovision, a schlockfest that nonetheless inspires great passion and massive television viewership throughout Europe every May. Hosted each year by the country whose act won the festival the previous year, Eurovision this year will be held in Athens on May 18 and 20.
Last year Helena Paparizou, a Greek-Swedish singer who grew up in Gothenburg, won the first-place prize for Greece.
Eurovision isn't just a music contest. It's also a massively gay cultural event, a friendly tussle of soft patriotisms, and, not infrequently, a prism through which shifts in European cultural politics can be glimpsed. To wit: Armenia is competing this year for the first time, and Georgia is set to compete for the first time in 2007. Both countries are bidding hard to be seen as part of Europe.
More dramatically, the spat that led to the withdrawal of the Serbian and Montenegrin entry is an expression of basic tension within that particular political unit, a tension that will be addressed by a referendum on the future status of Montenegro, to be held the very day after the Eurovision final.
This year, Greece's Anna Vissi (above) leads the betting odds, with Romania's Mihai Traistariu, Sweden's Carola, and Belgium's Kate Ryan not far behind. Finland's Lordi thus far wins the award for the most talked about act, with their theatrical metal entry titled "Hard Rock Hallelujah."
Jaunted will be on the ground, reporting on this most significant of European cultural events in addition to providing the skinny on that post-Olympic, immigrant-fueled, cosmopolitan boomtown also known as Athens.
Click Here To Go Straight To Chasing Racers Map Since the Amazing Race returned to its "Classic Coke" format, we figured we would give the show a proper mashup. his map will update every week in the days after the show. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors, become a member and comment on the stories below, and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray. Enjoy.
Episode 7
Did anyone else get the feeling that there was waaay more to the demise of Lake than CBS showed us last night? We got the feeling an entire show could have centered around what happened to Lake between the Ancient Stadium and the Fortress of Rion. Turns out Greek maps are Lake's kryptonite. Yes, we noticed Lake was sans scopolamine patch last night. Of course we saw how much the happy hippies seemed to enjoy their three way with a mostly nude Greek wrestler. And it goes without saying that E & J must have been extremely bummed that they missed the chance to knock torsos with a naked Greek man.
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by egw
