The following are my personal views, thoughts and opinions on this subject that I have carried with me and believed for these many years I have been a part of online Gor.  It is not my intent to offend, but simply to offer a different perspective and perhaps clear up some questioning of my commitment and love of Gor.  It is never my intention when I make a post to offend anyone; I certainly don’t like to be offended and it’s just not my style to treat others with such disregard.  Please refer to my full Disclaimer page.

Can a person truly be serious about Gor and not live the lifestyle in their real-lfe? Can such a person truly understand the extent and complexities of that which is the culmination of the philosophies that is Gor?

It’s something that I have seen discussed, and there is always a great degree of dissention on the subject. Die-hard lifestylers often feel that those who do not life the lifestyle as they are, are not earnest or serious, or love Gor as much as they do.

My answer to the question posed? Absolutely. Living the lifestyle may instill yet deeper the philosophies of Gor, but to say that just because one doesn’t live it in real life, they love it less. How can you measure love? Truly?

There are various reasons why a person may not live a Gorean lifestyle.

Perhaps they have a spouse or significant-other who may not even chat online, let alone do any sort of roleplay, be it online or even tabletop, that might lead them to happen upon Gor. Or perhaps that spouse or significant-other is simply not interested in the subject, or is not in agreement with the philosophies of those common in Gor.

Perhaps a person doesn’t want to lose their fantasy escape(s) by drawing them into a real situation.

Perhaps there are children involved or other family obligations and responsibilities.

Perhaps there are medical reasons; physical and/or mental. Without a doubt, a person must be healthy physically, as well as mentally and emotionally. Both persons need to be free of such disorders as alcoholism, et al, and bi-polarism, while treatable, still could affect mental capabilities, just to name a few.

I know many that fit all of the above, and then some.

For myself, I fit several categories. The most prominent being that my husband is not a chatter online, has no interest in roleplay of any sort, and while harboring some of the basic philosophies that man should be dominant over woman, the thought of lifting a hand to strike a woman abhors him, and there are indeed medical issues involved. I have handed him a book to read, but am met with complete disinterest. We have talked about the world I roleplay, and I am met with stony resistance. I have children, family, who would not understand, and I value them more than life itself to lose them.

Lastly, though far lesser in comparison to the other issues previously mentioned, the online world is my escape from reality, from the stresses of everyday life that can wear me down mentally and physically. When I enter the online world of Gor, I can lose myself in my fantasies, while being around a group of people I respect and adore, who share similar views.

While I know many who suffer physical ailments and live the lifestyle, and manage to do so, there are limitations that must be set in that lifestyle.

While I personally do not feel that Gor can be lived realistically in the real-world, or at least fully and completely with the inclusion of the laws that are found within the books (i.e., concerning the rules of property), I do feel that at least on the philosophical sense it is possible. While such lifestyle is impossible for myself, my circumstances of life, I would never begrudge others who do so; in fact, I rather congratulate those who acquire such a lifestyle successfully.

I think what irks me are those that are fad followers, those who seek to life such a lifestyle just because he or she wants to be in the “in” crowd of others who believe in what they are doing, and not merely following a fad. If they don’t believe in what they are living, they make a mockery of it for those that do choose that direction.

John Norman himself, who never proclaims himself as a man of Gor, does not live a Gorean lifestyle.

For me, Gor is a fantasy because it can only be a fantasy. It’s a fantasy that I love, in heart, soul and mind. While I may apply a few Gorean principles in how I conduct my life in the real world, the whole of Gor is a place that I can only access through the online world because of my circumstances, but my seriousness and love of Gor is not diminished by the fact that I cannot kneel in real life to a master and feel the true sting of a whip.

I must live my Gorean life then vicariously through my online character.

I have only been two characters in my well-beyond a decade in this world. The first, Talena, while there were indeed some wonderful Gorean experiences, I never fully reaped the true experience until years down the road when I was owned by a man named Sirius, or rather, even before I had been placed in his collar; the fires igniting when I first spied him and saw a man who knew well how to handle a slave. It was devastating to lose him, when the real world took him away after the death of one of his sons. Perhaps I could have continued in the growth of Talena had there been frees in the home I was living in that I truly saw as a capable master. The home was too much mush-and-squish, where slaves were coddled like children.

While Talena had been placed on a shelf of emptiness, I had ventured to another realm where I had known another of Gor. Though the venue was not Gorean, it was seeded with Gorean philosophy, but in a more whimsical manner. It kept my love for Gor alive, while myself as Talena felt stagnant. I should have left the home then at that point, continued on elsewhere in Gor, but I had hopes that Sirius would return.

Additionally, to help keep my love of Gor alive and burning, I immersed myself in my books, jotted down notes, worked on my website, a site which is offered to those who cannot afford to purchase the books, though neigher do I offer illegal copies of downloadable books nor do I support any who would. What I do offer are links to Fictionwise, which offers the legal e-book versions, as well as sites that sell in used books. Even still, in my research, I learn each time I open a book, and I study that new knowledge, embrace it and devour it.

With the other non-Gorean home closed down when two of our crucial members passed away, I was in an emotional quandry; I wanted Gor back, and mourned not being a part of Gor, but I could not be Talena anymore. If I left my home, I would be no doubt losing friends I had been around for 8, 9 years, because I felt there would be many who would not understand. I would hurt them, and that was something I didn’t want to do.

Ultimately, I did leave, realizing that people that I thought I knew were far different than the people they truly were. I brought Ayelen — and myself again — to Gor where she (and myself) without a doubt belonged. It has not been easy this past year, but I am glad it hasn’t been. I have grown so much in spirit and heart, in soul and mind, with each passing day spent. I have enjoyed the hands of good firm masters, though sadly, for one reason or another they departed Gor. I have been forced to look deep into my very being, to learn about myself right to the very core. Every day, I learn something new, be it from an experience online, or picking up a book and re-reading it. The day I stop learning, will be the day I no longer exist.

I am now owned by a man who is incredible, who takes my breath away, who frightens me, thrills me. He is without a doubt Gorean; his hand is firm, his temper easy, malevolent, and he expects nothing but perfection. He molds me as he wants me to be as his slave. He does not coddle. He may from time to time show affection or smile even. He is strict, stern, unrelenting. Each day spent he teaches me yet something new he expects of me; he helps teach me something new about myself. When I meet with his displeasure, I cry real tears, my heart lurches and aches, my stomach tightens into knots; not simply writing words that I am crying, or feeling an ache. When I find myself in a quandry of not understanding something, it is to him I direct myself to help me understand.

Right now, I ache for his return, and hopefully he will. If not, then as with any slave of Gor, I must move on.

I’ve heard the term used as “Soulplayers;” those who cannot live the lifestyle in the real world, but feels the life in heart, mind and soul and while in roleplay, consumes, fears, aches, and all those other emotions beyond the scope of a computer monitor.  Perhaps that is a fitting term, I don’t really know.

I also think, that since I can only live this beautiful world of Gor in fantasy online, it makes it that more special to me.

For the complete version of Living Gorean, please refer to the Miscellaneous section of my Gorean website.