Underground in Gor: A New Series
by Alphaville Herald on 30/04/09 at 7:15 am
by the Wanderer
Recently, a blogger named Joan Sweetwater explored Gorean culture and regions in Second Life, as a freewoman and, later, as a kajira.
I began to wonder what a geeky man would do in these settings.
Sweetwater began with a large chip on her shoulder: she despises Gor and its culture of male dominance. Goreans may note the small percentage of slaves in their culture, but it's the exception people remember. As Sweetwater put it, “no slaves, no Gor.”
So, I decided to go to Second Life's version of Counter-Earth not as a troll but as a reporter who would roleplay as best I could, inside the Gorean culture.
Here's a caveat. I dislike Gor too, though not with Sweetwater's level of venom. I found the novels badly written, even when I was a horny teenager. Back then, for dumbed-down versions of Nietzsche's will to power, I preferred the Conan novels, with their strong hero and often strong women.
So before starting, I set a few rules for myself:
Suspend my disdain and observe the culture
Try to roleplay without being condescending: talk to the Goreans in the best pseudo-epic banter I could, honed by many years of face-to-face gaming
Say no to any hijinks with a kajira. The onanism might be fun as my little dancing girl went from nadu though the entire range of Gorean slave-yoga, but “she” might (if Mark Stephen Meadows is right in I, Avatar) also be some gay guy jerking off in his loft as I ordered “her” about
Let some Master cut me up if I'm became an Asshat, then start again. What is roleplaying for, without the minimum daily requirement of violence?
So, reasonably bulked up and in a stylin' outfit, I teleported to the first of several Gorean sims I planned to visit, chat-log at the ready.
[...to be continued...]
Tristan Belgar
Apr 30th, 2009
Hello Wanderer,
Feel free to IM me if you need any tips or want some advice on places to go in Gor and interesting people to meet.
Emperor Norton Hears a Who?
Apr 30th, 2009
Gor can be summed up best this way; The main character, Tarol Cabot, is an English professor. These books are written for guys who have to fantasize about beating a girl up cause they couldn’t do it in real life.
And I don’t believe for a second you weren’t messing the kajira the Wanderer
The Wanderer
Apr 30th, 2009
@Tristan…thank you! I’ll be in touch.
@Emperor Norton…if I succumb to the charms of some slave-girl, you’ll hear all about him right here…Gor already has gotten me talking like a Gorean (check out Ch. 2, coming soon)
marilyn murphy
May 1st, 2009
another gor expose’. or is it just another gor…place label here…story.
i never cared for the gorean way of things. a lot of my disdain is the, “thou are not as truly gorean/following the books as well/as learned/ as i”, thing they do about and to each other. it is very rare to talk to one gorean without hearing them say something akin to “oh well, they got it all wrong and were not doing true gorean practices.”
they seem to be as divided as the muslims or christians, on who is right and doing the proper observances.
Usagi Dagger
May 1st, 2009
I suggest you do a bit of research in what sims you go to…. some are very cool with new people and others are Asshats over people not reading all 27-28 books… and I would not suggest mentioning any sims you been to for your safety.