Expert: arani_CsA - 11/8/2008

Question
hi....my wife and I own 2 slave couples (4 slaves). my wife has become more submissive and now wishes to be owned. I was thinking of making the girls of the house live in Gorean lifestyles. and the men just being tortured. can you tell me more about the gorean lifestyle and give me some links to learn more and visually see on my own and show my slaves.

thanks
Jay

Answer
Hello...

Thank you for coming to me with your question.  I hope I can help you find the answers you are looking for.

I have been a part of the Gorean lifestyle for over 9 years now, both on and off line.  Gor involves a whole-life philosophy that has only partly to do with slaves.  Goreans may or may not own slaves, according to their personal preference.  In one sense, the word Gorean simply means someone who lives on the planet Gor, just as I may be called an American because I live in the U.S.  But since there is no real planet called Gor, those who do call themselves Goreans are those who profess a common philosophy, the finer points of which even Goreans cannot completely agree on.

One point that Goreans do agree on is something called the Natural Order.  Basically, this says that men were created to be the dominant force in society, and women were created to serve.  Free women understand that they may be enslaved at any time.  There is a saying that a free woman is merely a slave who has not yet met her Master.  Male slaves are considered an abomination, and the only male slaves to be found in the books were prisoners of war or criminals who were sentenced to a life of servitude, and who were never resigned to their fate (or even came to accept and embrace it) as the women were.  

There are three main ways that Gorean society differs from what is usually found here on Earth, and slavery is only one of those.  The others are the concepts of the "Home Stone" and the caste system.  Goreans consider their cities to be almost living things, represented by actual stones of various shapes and sizes.  The allegiance of a Gorean to his home stone is far deeper than that of an American, say, to his country or his flag.  

The Gorean caste system is not so much a replica of that found in India today, but rather modeled after one described by Plato in "The Republic."  It specifies more than a man's profession, but also codes of conduct, and a sense of identity far more significant than any found here on Earth.  To put it simply, a man is born into a certain station in life that is goverened not only by his profession, but also his role in society and how he interacts with other members of that society.  Slaves have no caste, and hence have no status.  They are considered animals, and treated as such.  A man is born into his caste, and cannot change it except in rare circumstances.  

To say that slaves have no rights goes far deeper than saying that they have no limits, or safe words.  Those concepts are foreign to the Gorean way of life.  A slave certainly has limits -- they are the limits set by her Master, not after a period of negotiation (there is no such thing as negotiation between a Master and slave), but awarded after consideration by him of her innate characteristics and abilities.  For instance, I was given certain limits by my Master because of my bad heart, not because I stated that I would not be commanded in those things.  Truthfully, a slave's surrender is so total that she can't even consider the possibility of refusing to obey a command.  It simply doesn't matter that she may not enjoy doing something, or not be able to do it well.  She must simply comply becaues it would never be considered (by her or the Master) that she do otherwise.  It's kind of like breathing.

I will say that Gorean slaves may or may not be submissive.  A submissive is someone who enjoys being obedient, or has a need to be so, and who receives pleasure from being commanded and obeying those commands.  A slave may or may not enjoy obeying, and may at times deeply resent being told what to do.  She simply has no other choice.  This is not a matter of being forced to do it, but rather that obeying is so automatic that she doesn't even think about it or even feel anything in response to doing it.  Speaking for myself, I try to conform myself to the ideal of what my Master wants a woman to be, without his having to tell me what that ideal is.  It's up to me to figure that out, and if he has to tell me then I feel that I've failed in my duties as a slave.

The best place to learn about Gor is to go to the source, the 26 books written by John Norman and starting with "Tarnsman of Gor."  There are many who have spent years analyzing what is written in these books, and discussing what is meant, and different people find different things there.  I do want to caution you against relying on websites for your information; there are many out there that contain fallacious information written by those who have never picked up one of Norman's books and only go on what they hear from others.  But, just as a Christian cannot know the word of God without having read the Bible, one cannot be completely familiar with the Gorean philosophies without reading the Gorean novels.  That's not to say that Gor is a religion, but it is something that pervades a person's entire life just as a religion does.

Here are some other good places to read about Gor:
http://www.geocities.com/delphius2002/id2.htm
http://www.pantheus.com/TGV.shtml
http://www.worldofgor.com/

I will say that S/m play is not a part of the Gorean philosophy.  Many Goreans are horrified by it and will have nothing to do with those who engage in it.  Others are like my Master and myself, and engage in some S/m activities as a shared recreational activity that we both enjoy, like reading or going to the movies.  Many Goreans came to that lifestyle through BDSM, but many did not.

I hope I helped to clarify things for you.  If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me again.

arani_CsA,
devoted property of Clampius_Arelius