| Subject: The Real Truth about Lesbian's Love, By Debra L. Stang |
Author:
naomi
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Date Posted: 00:17:37 06/20/04 Sun
FROM THE SITE :
http://www.suite101.com/articles.cfm/lesbian_issues/
Let’s face it, these times of political correctness can be hard on curious folks. There are questions you may just be dying to ask, but you’re afraid you might get your face slapped…or worse, be labeled a homophobe. Or a homophile.
It is to the curious—but clueless—that I dedicate these questions and answers about the secret rituals and symbols of lesbian life.
Is it okay to call a lesbian a dyke?
Not unless you’re another dyke.
Who was Sappho?
If you’ve spent any time at all around lesbians, you know that most of us either have, have had, or are planning to have, a cat, a dog, or more rarely a snake named Sappho. If we’ve had a few beers or other…er…relaxing substances, you might also hear us making some pretty awful puns about being "sapphisticated." (That’s a fancy way of saying we’re dykes.)
For all of this adulation, the historical Sappho, a poet who lived on the Isle of Lesbos during the early seventh century B.C., remains something of a mystery. Although clearly a respected artist in her time (Plato once called her the "tenth muse"), only a fraction of her poetry remains to us. That poetry is clearly homoerotic.
The details of Sappho's life, unfortunately, are sketchy. Most scholars agree that she came from a prosperous family and spent most of her life on Lesbos, acting as a patron to women who became her friends and lovers before they went off to marry men. A few contend Sappho herself was married and had a child; some legends even have her killing herself out of unrequited love for a man (not her alleged husband). The rare academic even claims that Sappho had no same-sex interest at all, that her poetry about women is simply a traditional expression of admiration.
See what you think:
I have not had one word from her
Frankly I wish I were dead
When she left she wept
a great deal; she said to me, "This parting must be
endured, Sappho. I go unwillingly."
I said, "Go and be happy
but remember (you know
well) whom you leave shackled by love."
--Translated by Mary Barnard
A traditional expression of appreciation. Yeah, right.
What's the gay agenda?
Search me. A cynic might say that the so-called "gay agenda" is a fictional plot, hatched by homophobic idiots with too much time on their hands, for the sole purpose of trying to make heterosexual people scared of lesbians and gays.
But I'm not a cynic. I'm more of a conspiracy theorist. I’m hoping there is a large, organized, well-financed gay agenda working tirelessly to ensure equality to all, regardless of sexual orientation. Maybe I just haven't moved high enough in the lesbian hierarchy to hear about it yet.
Meanwhile, my own personal gay agenda goes something like this: clean the cats' litter boxes, do grocery shopping, get the oil changed on my car, go to work, come home, feed the cats, write, go to bed. Pretty terrifying stuff, huh?
Do gays and lesbians want special rights?
It depends on what you call special rights. I want the right to marry the person I love. I want the right to be free from discrimination on the job. I want the right to walk down the street with my lover and not be harassed. I want the government to get the hell out of my bedroom and my body. If you consider these things special rights, I guess that’s what I'm after.
What's with that little hatchet thingy?
That little "hatchet thingy" is a labyris, a double-bladed axe supposedly carried into battle by ancient female warriors. It has close associations with the Greek goddesses Artemis and Demeter and with the Amazons, a tribe of women renowned for their fearlessness in combat. Today, lesbians wear labyrises (labyrii?) on chains or earrings to symbolize power, strength, and female unity. Oh, and to tip off other lesbians about our sexual orientation. You can’t put all your faith in gaydar!
Why do some lesbians wear pink or black triangles?
This is edging into some serious territory. During the Holocaust, the Nazis forced gay men to wear pink triangles and "socially unacceptable" women (i.e., lesbians, prostitutes, etc.) to wear black triangles. When the allied forces arrived to free the concentration camps, gay men were not liberated—they remained imprisoned to serve out the remainder of the sentences for their "crimes." Wearing these symbols is a way to honor and memorialize the 200,000+ lesbians and gay men who died during the Holocaust, and a way to remind ourselves never to forget how thin the veneer of civilization truly is…especially for an oppressed minority.
Do lesbians really hate men?
What would be the point of that? Being a lesbian is about loving women, not about hating anybody.
Besides, I probably enjoy men far more than most of the straight women I know. After all, I don’t have to have sex with 'em.
What do lesbians do in bed?
The same as anybody else: we sleep.
There you have it. The real truth about lesbians. And it's kinda boring, isn't it? No more interesting than, say, an in-depth look at heterosexual couples. (What on earth do those wedding rings mean, anyway? And what is with the frothy white dress?)
Bottom line: in the end, love between consenting adults is love. It all makes a great deal of sense, or no sense at all, depending on your point of view. Lesbian love is not more mysterious, nor more shocking, and certainly not more interesting than any other kind of love. And that's straight (excuse the pun) from the horse’s mouth.
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