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Submissive Free Women

February 1st, 2007 Comments off

I’ve always known there were a lot of “online-isms” in the online [[Gorean]] culture.  On IRC we call them “IRC-isms”, but they seem to stretch to all venues that offer Gorean chat rooms.  Things like made up words, and philosophies that simply do not exist in the books.

For example, “karta” is the word used to describe the position in which slaves are expected to beg entrance to a channel (IRC chat room).  The girl goes to her knees, bends at the waist, places forehead or cheek (facing left) on the floor and stretches her arms over her head with her palms resting on the floor and her fingers splayed.  In the books, this is called “prostrate”, and girls do it to beg for things, especially forgiveness, but not entrance.  While [[kajirae]] are sometimes expected to ask before entering or leaving the room their owner is in, they don’t always prostrate, or even kneel, first.  This is an online-ism.

Another example is “ko-lar”.  Not only is ko-lar not a word, but Tarl Cabot (the main character) specifically states that this is not the spelling of the word.  He explains that this is merely the pronunciation the kajira he spoke with gave while she pointed to her collar.

An example of made up philosophies is the belief that girls are to beg mercy, not forgiveness.  This isn’t mentioned in the books.  While girls do beg for mercy, it is usually when they know they are about to be punished and are hoping to lessen their sentence.  Free men on [[Gor]] (as well as free women) have the choice of punishing or slaying a slave for any offense.  Begging for mercy is usually, in all actuality, a plea for the girl’s life.  The girls also beg, and fervently, for their masters to forgive them.  The emotion that goes with knowing a man is disappointed in a slave is supposed to be the most devastating emotion a slave can feel.  Begging forgiveness is an attempt to do away with that disappointment and the emotion it elicits in the slave.

Another online-ism seems to be the common misconception that free women are not submissive in any way.  I find it strange that this can even be a thought considering [[John Norman]] makes it very clear from the beginning that men are the stronger of the species and dominate the world of Gor.  The only real reason I can think of for this is the many “dominant” women who start out in [[BDSM]] and enjoy being a part of the online Gorean culture.  Dominant women trying to make their way in a man’s world.  For that is, without a doubt, what Gor is: A man’s world.

While the women don’t usually serve men who own slaves, they do submit to the men’s opinions and decisions.  A man will sometimes give a woman say so in his household, but only so long as her wishes coincide, or at the very least don’t interfere, with his own.  They also have been noted to submit in the privacy of their bedrooms as slaves to their free companion.  Read more…

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