The Athenians looked down their noses at the Boiotians and regarded them as barely civilized. Even today, if you consult an unabridged dictionary, you will see that the definition of "Boiotian" is "an uncivilized and uncouth person" - a boor.
It amused me that the next entry in the dictionary was "Boer," a descendent of the Dutch settlers in South Africa, the Afrikaaners. That is because I am a Boer. The literal meaning of the word is "farmer," and it came to be used derogatorily by the British who conquered the rebellious Afrikaners in the Boer War.
I have recently found out that I have inherited a Boer disease which makes the heart faulty. This is the result of the death of 120,000 Boer women and children in concentration camps - which the British invented 40 years before Hitler. These deaths reduced the gene pool and one of the genes remaining was to doom subsequent generations to faulty hearts.
The concentration camps were created in order to cut off the Boers' suppliers, the women on the farms. 20,000 Boer men waged successful guerilla warfare on 250,000 of Britain's finest soldiers and empire builders for two years. The only way to conquer them was to burn the farms and put the women and children in concentration camps.
"Gay" is a word which originally was used to describe someone who slummed around in the demi-monde in London in the past. Someone was "gay" if they fraternized with the low-life and bohemians, frequenting pubs used by gamblers, prostitutes and debauchees.
To this day it conjures up a life spent in bars and discos, partying, promiscuity and superficiality; a life which I investigated when I first discovered that there were others like me but which I soon discovered was unsatisfying both emotionally and intellectually.
I have often jokingly described myself as Lesbian since it is a word with more dignity but that word has been appropriated, incorrectly, by homosexual women who would be more accurately described by the word "Sapphic." Lesbos was after all regarded by the Athenians as a hotbed of both male and female homosexuality.
So, what does a male homosexual, who does not identify with the gay world, call himself? Other pedantic homosexuals before me have tried introducing new terms such as "Uranic" or "sodatic" all of which seem too stuffy and scientific. I almost prefer to call myself a fag, queer, pansy, sissie, poofter or moffie (the Afrikaans word for it.) At least they have the dignity of turning one's enemies words against them.
I propose that we call ourselves "Boiotians." This has a similar historical dignity as "Lesbian" and some basis in truth. It will also be most likely mispronounced. The correct pronunciation is "Bee-ocean" but self-taught people like me, who have not had the benefit of hearing a classics professor say the word out loud, will no doubt pronounce it "Boy-ocean" and that gives it a much needed playfulness. If the word ever caught on it would probably be spelled "Boyotian" eventually.
The Boiotians' other claim to fame is that they were the first recorded federal state in western civilization. Being someone who dislikes large central governments or empires or any such remote and bureaucratic power and who is a federalist at heart and who prefers more localized democracy, this also pleases me.
While I'm talking about politics, let me just add this: I may not like the "silly party" side of the gay scene (neither do I like the silly party side of the straight scene) but, when it comes to being out, open, standing up to be counted, speaking out for my rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, I'm right there with the gay political movement.
I've been an American now for 11 years and believe that, as long as my right to pursue happiness in any way that I choose is being endangered, I need to be vigilant and assertive of those rights - a soldier in the ongoing battle for freedom.
