A week on counter Earth. (AKA Gor)

If you are not familiar with Gor and wish to become educated, go to Google and do a search.  Or, if you want a more scholarly summary, go to Wikipedia.  For the seriously lazy and uninformed, here is my over simplified explanation of Gor.

Gor, an alien planet seeded with humans by an advanced alien species.  Said aliens (Called Priest Kings) use advanced technology to keep the now native human cultures, plucked from various times and places on Earth, at a pre-steam level of technology.  The cultures of the planet seem to have fixated on the concept that "might makes right" and behave accordingly.  Consequently, slavery and violence are endemic.

Gor was created as the setting for a series of books by the author John Norman.  Many people will tell you many things about what Mr. Norman meant to convey in those books.  My personal theory is that he, at least initially, meant them as an "answer" to the feminist and communal doctrines of the time.  The first books were published in the mid 60s after all.  It is considered Science Fiction, and one of the purposes of SF is to pose difficult questions.  To present ideas distanced from our every day life in a way that lets one consider them with less of a "gut" reaction.  So a SF series that was counter to the liberated thought of the day, would go a long way to allowing a person to consider those deeply emotional topics at a bit of a distance.

Since then, in many venues, the "lifestyle of Gor" has been the basis for roleplay, and perhaps even RL behavior.  I understand that, over the years, in any sort of internet social chat venue you can name, you are likely to find Goreans lurking.  Yahoo, Virtual Places, IRC, etc.  And there is a very large population of "Goreans" in SL.  These Goreans have created subcontinents of combined estates, parcels, hubs, markets, even one or more streaming "radio stations."  All revolving around "living out" being of Gor.

I read some of the books in the Gor series as a young person.  And, I admit, at the time, sheltered, flooded with hormones and very confused about things sexual, I was rather taken with them.  The concepts were certainly exciting.  Lately, I tried going back and re-reading some of the books.  I am sad to say, some twenty plus years later, I do not find the books enjoyable at all.  The main protagonist, Tarl Cabot, is one of the most loathsome characters it has ever been my misfortune to read about.  And frankly, I do not find Mr. Norman's writing style...Enthralling.

When I got into SL, almost four years ago now, I soon discovered the adult side of things.  And while I went there to learn to build things, being an adult, I peeked.  And was quite intrigued by many things.  One was the large Gorean community.  But I dug a bit deeper, and had several unpleasant experiences.  So I steered clear for the next three years or so.  Occasionally I would bump into a "Gorean," and in nearly every case, they reinforced my early impressions. 

Those impressions were of a group of people who were locked into a rigid and complex set of behaviors that validated violence, antisocial behavior (AkA being an asshole), misogyny and discouraged any sort of truly imaginative role playing.  But these were impressions.  I had never really delved into things Gorean.  Not like I have so many other aspects of human behavior as manifested in SL.  However, you can't go far, especially in any venue that is in any way friendly to BDSM, without bumping into things Gorean.  For example, so called "silks," are essentially, as presented in SL, a Gorean thing.  Various animations used by collars and other scripted items, such as "nadu" are, again, inventions of the Gorean community.

Then about three weeks ago, I was chatting with a friend in SL about religion.  And I made the off the cuff comment that it appalled me that so many people dismissed other belief systems as totally wrong and worthless, without ever becoming educated about them.  The next day, I was chatting with a new friend, who shares many of my tastes.  Including my preferences for the general type of avatar I manifest in SL.  This same person, was active in a Gorean group and spoke highly of it.  Even going so far as to encouraging me to join in.  Before I could turn down the offer, my comment about religion came back to me.  And it seemed, that I was, to put it crudely, talking out of my ass, any time I talked about Gor in SL.  I had never really "been there, done that."  So...I said, OK.

Wham, bam, thank you mam, I am very shortly thereafter inducted in the role of a collared Kajira (slave) to a tribe of Panthers (free females who spurn men) and kicked off the end of the pier into deep Gorean waters without a life preserver.  I had counted on my friend to be there for a bit of guidance, but she was, sadly, for the next several days, not around.  And my new "owners" took no time to instruct me on things Gorean.

Luckily, I have access to the Web.  I'm a fast learner, and I can figure things out pretty well from context.  Add in the occasional question in IM, and I was off and running in about a day.  For example, one of the things that slaves are expected to do is serve beverages.  On Gor, this is not simply a matter of pouring a drink.  It's practically epic poetry or advanced performance art.  Quick searches on Google for "Gorean Serves" and my ability to adapt and emote meant that on the few occasions I was called on to "serve" I did well enough to actually get a compliment on one occasion.  Likewise, I was only "taken to the furs" once in my stay.  But again, I seemed to do well enough.

The most fun I had while on Gor, was when a rival tribe of Panthers raided and I, along with two other slaves, were stolen.  We subsequently escaped and made our way back to our tribe.  In the process I learned a great deal that I think is at the core of what attracts many people to this "Gorean Lifestyle" in SL, or as I've seen it called, "Disney Gor."

What did I learn?  In a word, structure.  A lot of people are interested in things BDSM.  Walk into an adult shop anywhere in the US and I bet you can find handcuffs and some sort of flogger, at minimum.  Probably gags, masks, and other things as well.  But in RL, and in the general free form world of adult sims in SL, you have to find someone with compatible tastes.  Figure out limits, interests, come up with ideas, implement them, etc. etc.

In Gor, you shoot them with your virtual bow, or stick them with your virtual weapon, and thanks to the "Gorean Meter" system, they collapse and you can tie them up.  Then you haul them off to your camp, fortress, etc.  Once there, you act out whatever scenarios you wish that do not violate the clearly stated limits of your playmate, er...Victim.  In addition, people can play various dominance games, keeping track in many ways.  How many slaves have you captured?  How many opponents vanquished with your pixel pointed stick?  How many people have you persuaded to join your group?  Who has been more effective posturing as a strong dominant type?  (I saw an amazing amount of nearly school yard level "verbal" posturing in the short week I was in Gor.)  I can see this being attractive the same way I can see Disney parks being fun, say as compared to spending a day free and at loose ends.

As it happened, the person who ended up as my "owner" in Gor, and I, were not really compatible.  So after a week of wasting a lot of time, I decided to gracefully exit stage left.  I do not claim to be an expert on things Gorean in SL after a week.  But I now feel I can speak with some authority on it, at least within my limited experience.  And what do I have to say?

• First and foremost, while I enjoy BDSM, either as a top or a bottom, Gor is not my thing.

• Second, not all Goreans are asshats.  Many are folks who simply enjoy the role playing structure that the Gorean "lifestyle" presents.  

• All Goreans are not created the same.  There are BTB (By The Book) and GE (Gor Enchanced) Goreans.  I obviously prefer the GE folks since as far as I know, there has as yet been no book published titled "Transvestites of Gor" or something similar.  Though I did see a fake cover painting of that book once at a Science Fiction convention.  (Did I mention I am a serious nerd, and have always been one?)  The GE Goreans use the Gorean Meter system and other tools, as well as the general precepts and behaviors that are archetypicaly Gorean, but they add to them as suits their wants.  Such as Kajiras with something extra. 

• SL Gor, as presented within my experience, sadly, does lend itself to perpetuating many of the negative stereotypes found in the BDSM community.

All that said, if you like Gor and enjoy RPing in a Gorean sim, go you!  Have fun.  That's a good part of what SL is about after all.  Folks having fun together.