Chris Croughton wrote:
> 'Philandry' and 'philandrist' don't seem to exist, although the original
> meaning of 'philanderer' was a "lover of men" (since it was Greek in
> origin it was probably applied to men who loved men).
In point of fact: "philos" = friend, "andros" = man. A philanderer was
a friend of man.
Now, note the word "pederast" or the extraordinarily illiterate
spelling, "paederast."
"Paidi" child
"Erastis" lover
Nothing wrong with philandering. The phenomenon of pedophilia then as
now was socially encouraged, but there was quite a bit wrong with
screwing little kids.
Extraordinarily different culture, completely different rules, and as
the spiritual children of the ancient Greeks we are, English speakers
have adopted those terms with extraordinarily different connotations.
The Greeks in Greece have absolutely no idea that Greece is considered
the spritual birthplace of politically-correct homosexuality. Men
loving men is far less acceptable here than elsewhere, and I've
actually had to warn a foreign, openly gay couple having a conversation
in the metro that a somewhat sinister group standing next to them in
the car was discussing the best way to jump them.
There is, however, far less reported violence against gay men here than
there is elsewhere, and I believe that there's less real violence as
well. Transvestites line Syngrou Avenue in Athens in the wee hours and
I have never gotten a whiff of anyone murdering one in my five years
here. I live two blocks away from Syngrou.
The same situation in a city of five million in the States, even in a
place like San Francisco, would be a dream come true.
|
|