The Big Problem With Gor
Role-playing Gor is one thing. But believing in it is another. And for some people, they may gradually go from role-playing it to believing it without realizing it. And, as a result, they may start believing some very harmful things about women — and themselves.
First concept: It is ethically acceptable to remove the life and/or liberty of a person who has been physically overpowered.
Second concept: It is ethically acceptable to remove the life and/or liberty of someone who engages (or expresses a desire to engage, or even an interest) in the activities commonly associated with a slave.
The first concept, which leads (in the books) to raiding parties attacking homes and caravans and killing all the men and enslaving all the desirable women, is justified by saying it supports “naturalistic” evolution. According to this concept, physical prowess is the most important trait of a human being, and it follows that physically weak guys and ugly women are supposed to be killed for the betterment of the species — no matter how beneficial they may be in non-physical ways (such as being skilled surgeons or great musicians). Naturalists say that only allowing the strong men (and the attractive submissive women) to survive and reproduce is the way of nature. But successful species do not do that. Wolves don’t do it. Nor do ravens. Nor do tigers. Nor other major species. It’s simply not natural.
Regarding the second concept, an associated societal belief is that a woman can only truly embrace her femininity by becoming a slave. This is propagated in Gorean culture because Gorean men only allow certain desirable things to be done by slaves, then say that anybody who wants to do them really wants to be a slave. Circular logic at its worst. Let’s say that a culture believed that beef was holy food, but chicken was unclean. Free people ate beef, and slaves were only allowed to eat chicken — but, conversely, nobody was allowed to eat chicken but slaves. And let’s say that the culture believed that, because only slaves ate chicken, if somebody publicly expressed a desire to see what chicken tastes like, or especially if they liked the taste of chicken, then that was proof that they wanted to be a slave at heart, and the penalty was immediate and permanent loss of liberty. Sounds absurd, right? But on Gor, women are told the only way to embrace their femininity is to be a slave because the laws only allow slaves to fully embrace their femininity. Pleasure slaves are required to be submissive, have sex with strangers, wear revealing clothing and dance with erotic abandonment. So if a woman expresses an interest in any of these things, even as a casual comment, even as a momentary fantasy, even in the privacy of her home with her free companion, she can be instantly enslaved for life.
Add to that the public-relations campaign (repeatedly described in the books) showing happy pleasure slaves compared to disgruntled free women, and you have (at least, in Gorean society) women naively wishing to be a slave because they think it’s the only way they can ever be truly feminine.
What if the Gor books were written such that every other child born to a person had dark skin? And every person with dark skin had to walk around in fear that they never accidentally appear to be submissive, even out of friendship or love, because they could be enslaved for life as a result? You think the books would be acceptable to anybody but White Supremacists?
At one time I totally embraced the idea that being a kajira was something truly desirable for a woman. During that time, I wrote an essay on the “joys” of being a slave in Gorean society. The following is taken from that essay: “From where does the joy of being a slave truly come? One word answers that question completely. That word is “love”. In love does someone willingly sacrifice their own dreams, hopes and desires in order to fulfill those same things in another. Because love affects those of all castes, from peasants to initiates, truly can all people know the bliss of giving of themselves in servitude, even if legally they remain free. … [A] slave is wise to always remember the following — perfect love casts out all fear. Through love for a master, one comes to not only accept the whip, but to welcome it as a tool to help one become truly the best at providing the desires of those you choose to love. This may be why women seem to be more prone to becoming slaves — because they often are more courageous and willing to love than men are in our world. Yes, courageous, for loving is a risky act in which one jeopardizes not just their body, but their mind and soul as well. Loving the one whose name is engraved upon your collar is just the start, however. For a slave truly embrace their lot in life joyfully, one must be willing to love ALL masters — which means ALL freemen and freewomen. Then can a slave find themselves in peace no matter where they may physically reside. Love is servitude. Servitude is love. Remember those two sentences and be happy in your days.”
Since writing that essay, I’ve broken free of the idea that my natural submissiveness is an indication that I should be a slave. After coming to that realization, at first I thought my essay was incredibly naive. But then I realized it wasn’t my essay that was naive — it’s Gor that’s naive. When somebody loves somebody, they want to serve them joyfully, gaining pleasure from giving pleasure. It’s what love is. Do women love more easily than men? Or do they simply express it more openly? Is that why they seem more submissive? I don’t know for sure. But just because a person wishes to lovingly serve another person — or lovingly serve many other people — doesn’t mean they are a slave at heart. There’s a big difference between being allowed to serve and being forced to serve. Love is servitude by choice. Slavery is not. Even though a slave may love her master, it is truly despite being forced to wear a collar, and not because of it.
Gor hates love. Gor is afraid of love. Gor corrupts love. Gor says that any who wish to serve should be forced to serve all, forever, to lose all ability to be independent members of society. Those who wish to be open in love should be locked up and limited and become objects, be tightly controlled. Men on Gor are taught that love is weakness. When women show love, and express those things that are considered “womanly”, it is considered weakness and proof they should be enslaved. Nobody loves on Gor except in tightly controlled situations.
Those two concepts I identified are not dangerous by themselves, and they are actually acceptable as background ideas used to create a fictional storyline. In comparison, the world created for the Buffy: the Vampire Slayer television series is an awful place to live, but it’s interesting and enjoyable to experience as an observer (by watching the television show or reading the associated books). Gor is also a world that can be interesting and enjoyable to experience as an observer (by reading the books) or even as a roleplayer (in online simulations). The difference is that nobody says it would be a good thing if the Buffy universe was real. Nobody says the world should really be one in which demonic vampires and evil magicians are intent on destroying humanity. But that’s what so insane about “real-life” Goreans. They think those two concepts I identified are actually legitimate. They actually believe that the real world — the Earth we all live in — should really be run like it is on Gor.
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You’re currently reading “The Big Problem With Gor,” an entry on MastersStroke
- Published:
- October 22, 2011 / 3:06 AM
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