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I have been thinking of different ways to address new people coming to the forums, how to answer questions and find out what they came looking for.

So I started talking to other Goreans, both the males and the females, both the free and the not so free.

Sent out a rough draft and considered the suggestions, the rewrites, the edits.

After two months of work (on and off) we have compiled a final (or maybe not final) writing.

 

New to Gor?

Well the first thing is to articulate what your interest is.

 

Do you just want to know what Gor is?

Many will come because they hear about the "crazy Goreans" and want to know if what they hear is true.

Some will come because they think it "sounds cool".

Others because they get off having girls call them "Master"

Maybe they think it will be a easy way to just get laid.

The best reason in my opinion would be you want to see if it is for you.

 

No Gor is not BDSM.

 

No we are not the D&D of the BDSM world.

 

Well that is the easy and not so easy part.

 

To start with the creator of the Gorean philosophy is John Lange, a professor of philosophy and a historian.

Putting any philosophy into a few simply words that would make it understandable is close to impossible.

 

If you want the short version,

The FetLife user Brinlarr sums it up pretty well when he says

>Gor in short: is a philosophy , that encompasses human experience for a several thousand years. This naturalist philosophy has been re written as a fiction story , that is is set in a historical background redressed to be to look like a science fiction .

We don't role play the books, we are fully aware the books are not real , nor is there is a planet called Gor, what we do follow is the philosophies behind the books.

We don't scene, we don't have a life style, Gor is nothing special, it is a reasonable coherent explanation of life as it has been and currently is.

Slaves have no boundaries except that mandated by the state, no we don't whip for pleasure or as a sexual activity or engage in most BDSM activities, as we are not part of BDSM.

Consequently limits have an entirely different meaning for us.

Gorean's are not cruel but are often harsh.

Gorean men often have slaves not because Gor is about D/s but because women submitting to men is a consequence of being a Gorean man

A Gorean man accepts that not all of his actions will be correct but when they are not, he accepts the consequence of his actions.

Gorean men aspire to be honorable.

Gor is not bdsm, not a life style , not a scene Gor is a naturalistic explanation of life as it always has been and as currently it exists

 

The Longer answer?

The Gorean philosophy is a combination of a multitude of concepts, constructs and aspects which are contained within many other philosophies. Gor is based upon human interactions through history with a high emphasis on "the order of nature within the natural order".

It is about how we choose to live our lives. Gor is not about fantasy trappings, or about masters and slaves, it is not about "free" or "slave" (Yes there is a difference within the Gorean context)

 

An important 'part' of Gor relates to our own place in nature; being free, if that is our place, and being slave, if that is our place.

It is far less about gender that it is about seeing our own truth,and embracing it, the who of who we are. and embracing it.

Granted there are very very few male slaves than female, and proportionally far more male free than there are female.

 

We do firmly believe that, biologically males are more dominant than females. Mostly it is about men being men and women being women, no matter if they is free or slave.

It is about being who we are, what we are having a code and doing what we can to live up to it.

 

No, we are not the "crazy" you have heard, most of us are not anyway. A lot of what you have been hearing is from role-players or people who just did not fit or wanted to change what we are to fit them. They get upset when it does not work the way they wanted it to.

Depending on who or why they figure it is not them that did not fit, it must be us!

 

Commonly, Goreans are characterized as misogynist, intolerant, bigots, abusive, and a whole host of other negative ascriptions in the hopes of sullying others to avoid facing the reality that Gor is simply not for them.

 

It’s just that simple. The reality is, square pegs and round holes.

One either accepts the philosophy or one does not. One either fits or one does not.

I do not speak for all who claim to be Gorean, but I do know that MOST Goreans do not go to others and and insist they they change so the Gorean would fit in, so why do others try and do the same with us?

 

It would be foolish for someone who eats meat to go to a vegan meeting and claim to be vegan. It would be ridicules for them to go to a vegan meeting and insist they also eat meat.

Somehow if the vegans hold to their beliefs and abstain from consuming meat, suddenly, they are the "crazy" ones and all manner of excuses and name calling ensues. It couldn’t possibly be that the person that consumes meat simply did not fit, could it?

 

You might think that is stretching it as an example, the truth of it is that is just what happens in Gorean groups, some people and lifestyles just do not fit, so we are the crazy ones.

 

So why are we different?

Aside from the philosophy, there is nothing different about a Gorean and anyone else. It is not something "cool".

Calling yourself Gorean is NOT going to get you laid.

There is nothing special about being called "master".

The term "master" is not the same to a Goreans as it to practitioners of BDSM. The person addressing a free man as 'master" does not automatically become that “master’s” play thing.

 

The enslaved addressing the free as master or mistress is nothing more than protocol, it is for the benefit of the slave, not for the ego of the free. It is about respect due the position and not the person.

Not unlike an enlisted person referring to an Officer as “Sir” or “Ma’am”.

 

What To expect from Gorean forums

Now if you came to one of the Gorean forums to find out if Gor might be for you...

The first thing you will hear is RTFB! AKA "Read The Fucking Books"!

And yes, that really is the only way you will know if Gor is for you or not.

You CAN read websites, but it is not recommended. Most things on websites you find will be for role playing, a lot of things have nothing to do with the philosophy or living it, many things will be made up just to enhance the role play.

You can speak to others who claim to live as a Gorean, but how would you know if they do or not?

If you have no base knowledge to compare against.

They can tell you just about anything and you would have no idea if it is true or just bullshit.

 

Finding the books is not hard, as they are available for sale online, both real hand held copies and e-versions.

 

Here is a good place to begin your search.

 

DO NOT DOWNLOAD ILLEGAL COPIES!

 

Yes we, Goreans, frown on that behavior for many reasons, most of them are self-evident.

One only has to read any of the Gorean forums and stumble across heated discussion over the issue.

Not only do Goreans consider it theft, most of the illegal copies have been changed to fit the person that posted them.

 

One example is where someone added a whole slave auction of transvestites.

 

Another is where a large war bird was added that only a Ubar could ride and it could kill 20 tarns.

 

Even though the last had nothing to do with the philosophy, it was a edit for role players, to enhance their role playing.

 

The first was because someone wanted to change the philosophy so they could fit.

(square peg round hole thing again).

 

Now we know RTFB is a lot to ask someone to do just to find out if Gor is for them. It is foolish for any of us to expect someone to go through all that expense and investing all that time just to see if Gor is for them or not.

 

My suggestion is try your local library, see if they might have a copy of the first book, Tarnsman of Gor.

See if they have the first three or five even. They are short reads and easy to finish in a night or two. If, while reading, nothing jumps out at you, ignore it... you have your answer.

 

If something does, make a note of it, ask questions in the groups. Make them as specific as you can.

You will get more precise answers and a lot less of the "we will not spoon feed you".

Remember that the protagonist is not the person you learn the philosophy from, you will be learning as he does, from the OTHER characters.

 

Ignore the fantasy aspects, learn from the giant talking spider (yes there is one in the first books) but the lessons from the spider do teach the philosophy.

If in the first few books something does hit home with you, then it is time to start down the path.

Find as many of the books you can and start reading. I suggest reading them first for the story and just make notes of what jumps out at you, write down questions.

Wait as you read to see if the questions get answered. (Most times they will.)

Many suggest the first 10, I suggest the first 15. When you are done go on and read them again, this time looking for the philosophy and compare your notes from the first read to this one.

Note any changes you notice and write them down.

Start asking earnest questions, get involved in the discussions.

 

If you have got that far, welcome to the start of your path to learning and maybe being Gorean


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