a kajira's thoughts on Gor
Tal, or Greetings if you prefer. The Gorean Lifestyle. What is it you may ask? It is this kajira's humble hope that she is able to answer that question to the best of her abilities. First and foremost the Gorean lifestyle is based off of a series of books titled the Chronicles of Gor written by John Norman. In the books, men are Dominant and Masters while women are submissive and those who have embraced their 'true womanhood' are slaves, pleasure slaves for the most part. It is said when a Gorean Master takes a white silk, or virgin slave, that she will not be a white silk for long.
"He is Master and I am slave.
He is owner and I am owned.
He is to be pleased and I am to please.
Why is this?
Because he is Master and I am slave."
Page 184 - Explorers of Gor
He is owner and I am owned.
He is to be pleased and I am to please.
Why is this?
Because he is Master and I am slave."
Page 184 - Explorers of Gor
Women who have not embraced their 'true womanhood' are called Free Women. They must be very careful to always have protection should they leave the safety of their homes because any woman who is overpowered by a man becomes his property. Slaves are property. They are little more than animals to be bought, sold, used, and disciplined as the Master sees fit, including death. Punishment is not only meted out to slaves though. Even a Free Companion, or Free Woman, can be punished should her behavior become unseemly.
"This harsh treatment, incidentally, when she is thought to deserve it, may even be inflicted on a free companion, in spite of the fact that she is free and usually much loved. According to the Gorean way of looking at things a taste of the slave ring is thought to be occasionally beneficial to all women, even the exalted free woman. Thus when she has been irritable or otherwise troublesome even a Free Companion may find herself at the foot of the couch looking forward to a pleasant night on the stones, stripped, with neither mat nor blanket, chained to the slave ring precisely as though she were a lowly slave girl. It is the Gorean way of reminding her, should she need to be reminded, that she, too, is a woman, and thus to be dominated, to be subject to men. Should she be tempted to forget this basic fact of Gorean life the slave ring set in the bottom of each Gorean couch is there to refresh her memory. Gor is a mans world."
Page 67 - Priest Kings of Gor
There is so much that can be said of the books. The world they describe is harsh, brutal, primitive. Some say there is passion in them as well. This girl is not entirely sure of that as she found them to be a bit droll. For anyone who knows about the lifestyle that may sound odd coming from a Gorean slave. Many believe in order to fully embrace the lifestyle and it's ideals you must read all of the books first. This girl does not feel it is entirely necessary. One can learn much about the ideals, the beliefs, without reading all of the books, through research and conversing with others who are more knowledgeable.
One must keep in mind, John Norman never intended for anyone to read these books and attempt to emulate them. However, since the first book, The Tarnsman of Gor came out in 1966/67 the ideals in the books have been embraced and through that the Gorean Lifestyle was born.
The Gorean Lifestyle, sometimes called just 'Gor', is a subset of BDSM. It is akin to a TPE, or Total Power Exchange Master/slave relationship but there are some very core differences between the two.
In a TPE relationship the submission is a gift given by the submissive to a Master or Mistress he or she trusts. Very often in Gorean relationships this is not the case. Young women are coerced into the collar. Many kajira do not come into this lifestyle willingly, with full knowledge of what it is t hey are agreeing to. They think it is a game, something they can end at any time. They think it's kinky to be someone's 'pleasure slave'. They do not realize that in accepting the collar they lose themselves. Very often the Master chooses a new name for His slave, something He feels is appropriate regardless of what she may wish. we kajira and kajiru do not have wishes of our own, desires of our own, unless our Master or Mistrress allows it. In TPE this does not occur nearly as often.
Another core difference is that in a TPE relationship, the slave has the option to remove the collar and revoke their submission should the Master do something to break the bond of trust between them. For we kajira and kajiru there is no such option. A kajira or kajiru can only leave service if their Master or Mistress dies or releases them. Should either of these occur the slave is not free, not as the slave in a TPE is. No, the kajira or kajiru is simply a Masterless or Mistressless slave. This is who we are, what we are. It is imperative to understand that this is the mindset we kajira and kajiru have. However, if you speak to slaves who no longer have a Master or Mistress they may tell you the same thing; that they are Masterless/Mistressless slaves.
You will often find the slave in a TPE will either have at the moment, or had in the past, a safe word, something he or she can say to stop things if they become too intense. This is not so of Gorean slaves. we do not have such a thing. The first time this girl was asked about safe words she was confused as she did not even know what they were. There are those who feel this is dangerous but for this girl and many others it is a beautiful thing.
To explain just how deeply this mentality can go, this girl would like to share a personal account with any who wish to read this. Not long after this girl willingly bared her neck for her Master's collar, with full knowledge of what doing so meant, she met a sister kajira who was so young, so fragile, so broken. Looking into her eyes it felt as though she was looking at a dead thing. There was no life in the girl. her Master was extremely abusive, but not only that he'd taken her when she was vulnerable. she was a runaway and He offered her a 'safe haven'. she was cold, hungry, tired, of course she took it despite the fact that she was fifteen and He was twice her age. This kajira and her Master, upon learning of this, tried to get the girl away from her Master. Master even called the police but the girl lied. she said she did not meet him until after she turned eighteen and she said there was nothing wrong, she was happy and wasn't being mistreated. she gave such a convincing performance that no charges were ever filed.
Another difference between the two is that in the Gorean lifestyle a Gorean Master can discipline the slave of another Gorean Master for any wrong be it real or perceived. Some, such as this girl's Master, only allow it to an extent but others give free rein to their fellow Masters. Many Gorean Masters also believe that, just as in the books, a slave is there for the pleasure of any and every man. Not all feel this way and should another Master try to order a slave that is not His to pleasure Him it can and has caused problems. Unfortunately, because a Gorean Master can punish another Gorean Master's slave there are quite a few who seem to think they can punish ANY slave. This is far from true and it causes a great deal of strife when in mixed company.
However, there are others, like this kajira's Master, who embrace the good aspects of the books and mesh them with the traditional beliefs from a TPE relationship. What good aspects you may say? While the books may be harsh and brutal there is still some tenderness between the Master and his slave and more than one Gorean Master has fallen in love with His slave.
"She was not only the sort of female that he found irresistibly, excruciatingly attractive, but, to my surprise and delight, there seemed to be a special mystery or magic, or chemistry between them. Each was a dream come true for the other. She had been, it seemed in some profound genetic sense, born for his chains. They fitted together, like a lock and its key. She loved him profoundly, helplessly, and from the first time she had seen him. He, too, had been smitten."
Magicians of Gor, page 14
When Master and gillian met, she was... willful, stubborn, and very opinionated. She used those things to hide the fact there was something missing in her life. Master saw there was a lack, and knew what she needed. Her life had no real purpose. When our relationship first began, it was similar to a Total Power Exchange, only a little more... intense. Master was very determined to help her see that in submitting to Him completely, she would no longer feel the need to be stubborn and opinionated because her life would have purpose. That's not to say Master kidnapped her or anything, He was just very insistent. This kajira's total submission came about after several weeks of being in Master's care.
Master was firm, loving, affectionate, and strict when this girl needed it. The day she bared her throat for her Master's collar was one of the most fulfilling moments in her life. she felt whole, complete, and no longer feared a life of emptiness. That moment has only been bested by the birth of our twins a year ago.
Not all Gorean Masters are abusive, not all are horrible men, but far too many of them are for this girl's taste. That is slowly starting to change. More and more Gorean Masters are coming to realize that the slave is to be cherished for the precious possession she is. This one believes that is in part due to younger people taking an interest in the lifestyle and bringing a different mentality to it. While the bad far out weigh the good it is getting better. It is this girl's humble hope that in time it is not the good, loving Master's who are a rarity in the Gorean lifestyle, but the abusive ones. It will take time and dedication to teach others a better way, but it can happen.
This girl feels she must make a clear distinction here. There are many online Gorrean communities that are more role-play than lifestyle. These communities follow the books very closely. The slave is there for the pleasure of any and all free men. she has no wants, no needs, no desires of her own. she is nothing. she is an animal and will be rutted as an animal. Let this be a warning to those who seek to join a Gorean role-play because they canm be even morei ntense.
The Gorean slave refers to him or herself in third person. There is no 'I', only he, she, we. It is to remind us of our place, of who and what we are. It is merely an extension of our Master or Mistress giving us a new name. All we have, all we are, is because of our Master or Mistress. we are nothing, we have nothing, that our Master or Mistress does not allow.
Since the intention is to explain the lifestyle, and this girl hopes she has explained at least somewhat, and generate discussion, this kajira opens the thread to her fellow Gaians for their thoughts, comments, questions. It is understandable and perfectly acceptable if someone reads part of this and immediately goes “EW! I would never do that” or “That's horrible!” This girl doesn't expect everyone to understand it, or like it, or embrace it. Her humble hope is simply to educate. If this appears jumbled or disjointed this girl offers her humblest apologies. she has been writing a little each night after her children and Master were in bed, with Master's permission and approval, and as such it is possible her thoughts did not flow smoothly. Again, this girl offers her humblest apologies.
gillian bree
