 Gorean
- have you ever come across that term before ? If you've spent any
time on the internet and have an interest in BDSM then it's pretty hard
to avoid. The term comes from a series of sci/fi novels about a planet
called Gor, where the men make Arnold Schwartzennegar look like a wimp
and the females have never heard of womens liberation. The extreme slave
culture described struck a chord with many D/s devotees however,
and Gorean websites, newsgroups, and chat-rooms have sprung up all over
the internet where people engage in a fantasy life based on the world described
in the Gor novels. Some even try to live their whole lives 24/7 according
to gorean principles. For those budding kajira and kajirus (slavegirls
and slaveboys) who can suspend disbelief, Gor offers a rich fantasy life
with strong BDSM themes. Others are only glad that the author of the Gor
novels (pictured on the left wondering what its all about ) didn't write
about Mickey Mouse or we'd all be having to ask permission in the third-person
to enter Disney World. John Norman (aka John Frederick Lange ) was the
author who ignited so many D/s fantasies with his Gor novels. In
real-life, he is probably as far removed from the macho males he describes
in his novels as its possible to get (ah...wish fulfillment ! ) An academic
writer and philosopher who received his Doctorate from Princeton, he worked
for several years as an Associate Professor of Philosophy at a New York
University. The work for which he is best known, his Gor novels, is a series
of over 20 books about the fictional planet of Gor, the "Counter-Earth".
Several million copies of his works have been printed and he has been published
in several languages. Two feature-length motion pictures have been based
on his work. Even today his work is regarded as slightly controversial,
and some of his writing has been censored and banned periodically throughout
his lengthy career. His work has attracted a large following both in his
native United States and throughout the world. Several of his earlier works
have recently been reprinted in America, and he continues to be published
abroad. The first of the Gor novels appeared in 1967, and installments
to the series continued to be published right through until 1988. Also
during this period, Norman authored an additional sf/fantasy trilogy known
as the Telnarian Histories, plus two other unrelated fictional novels,
and a nonfiction paperback entitled 'Imaginative Sex'. The first six books
of the Gor series were recently reprinted, and have again been made available
in select bookstores in the US. Whole websites are devoted to the
fantasy world of Gor and its structures, language and customs are so complicated
that, if you're curious, you'll need to dip into the novels yourself. Basing
your life on the writings of a sci-fi novelist is probably no more barking
mad than subscribing to the flat-earth society or joining your friendly
neighborhood brainwashing cult. Goreans do no harm and have huge
fun in a train-spotter, anorak'ish kind of way. Its easy to make fun..
(oh lord preserve us, how easy it is).. but even the most cynical critic
can't deny that the world of Gor is a BDSM icon. |
