In Defense Of Gor

Introduction

Gor is a 'form' of BDSM based on a series of fantasy novels. There are a large number of positives to be drawn from the series, such as a defined culture, recognized poses, forms of address, etiquette, behavior and so on. The problem comes that there are aspects of the Gorean fantasy that are [mis]used by abusive people as a justification of their actions.

Particularly within the on-line community, Gor has gained a reputation as being abusive. As a result, many people have become extremely intolerant of Gor and any who practice it. This article is intended to address many of the misconceptions and explain why Gor itself is not wrong, it is the people who abuse it that are.

It Is A Fantasy

The Gorean novels are a fantasy. Those that play out the fantasy on line or role-play the fantasy in real life are simply creating a temporary scene.

In the traditional scene, there are people who are in to play rape. This does not mean they are genuinely raping anyone - it means they are playing out the concept, with everyone consenting to play the game before it starts. This allows powerful concepts to be explored, in safety.

Gorean role-playing in no different. Yes, there are acts that are completely unacceptable within the real world - such as lack of consent, the right to kill slaves and so on, but they remain fantasy only and those that participate in Gorean role-play are giving their consent before beginning to participate.

When Gor becomes a real world lifestyle choice, while much of the fantasy can be adapted, some of the concepts may be professed to but are ultimately put aside. A D/s slave contract can be a great device for a couple but ultimately does not permit anything that is normally illegal. In the same way, participating in a Gorean lifestyle does not change the fact a Gorean Master, in the real world, still has to abide by the same laws as everyone else.

Those that claim Gor is wrong as slaves can be killed, or taken without there consent, are entirely missing both the point that the fantasy is just that and the reality still has to abide by real world laws.

Can Any Other Kink Claim Purity?

The problem Gor has is that many people [mis]use it to justify acts that are wrong. These people are breaking from the notion that Gor is just a fantasy or must be adapted before it becomes a valid real world lifestyle choice. Either through misunderstanding, or a deliberate desire to abuse, they pick and choose from the notions of Gor to justify whatever abuses they wish to commit anyway.

While this may seem like a terrible weakness in Gor, it is a concept that applies to everything in life. Within the traditional D/s scene there are those that incorrectly use it for abuse. That does not mean that D/s should be banned.

Even if you do believe that anything that can be abused should be banned, stop and think for a moment. Is there anything that is so pure it cannot be abused? Politics? Religion? How about something as pure as the family (child abuse)?

Daring To Address The Issue

At the moment, if Gor is mentioned in a lot of places, people put their defenses up, get aggressive, announce that Gor is [meant to be] about abuse and refuse to discuss it.

The end result is that those who are seeking to abuse see it as something they can use. Even worse, those Gorean subs who have been [falsely] told that it is more than a role-play, or that consent really does not have a place (if only to leave the fantasy), have those false notions confirmed rather than being given the information they need to continue safely.

The solution is not to fear or hate Gor for its potential to be abused, but to educate. If everyone knew what Gor validly was no one would be able to abuse it for was it was not.

Conclusion

Gor arguably is a form of BDSM. It involves many of the aspects that make up BDSM and requires consent to either role-play it or [through the real world law] to live it.

To accuse Gor of being abusive is to miss the point entirely and to interpret the actions of those who also miss the point as speaking for the culture as a whole. Further more, by doing so, you perpetuate those acts and misconceptions, rather than stop them, by giving them a false sense of validity.