**The following is a post that I made to a group of folks from my local BDSM community with reference to what the Gorean lifestyle is about.  Although the essay only touches the surface of it all, I thought it might benefit those who are curious as to what the lifestyle itself is about.

I will offer a bit from my own experiences in dealing with the Gorean community and how most Goreans that I have known define their lifestyle and philosophy. :) I will be speaking of how the greater Gorean community lives here on Earth and I will be skipping the sci-fi-fantasy and fiction aspects as they do not and cannot apply to our own planet, society, and culture.

Throughout our years together, Master and I have spent a great deal of time in the company of those who wear the Gorean mantle and who claim to follow a philosophy that bears the same name. Although we do not necessarily believe in some aspects of what goes along with it, Master has found many philosophical, cultural and M/s aspects of it that he does enjoy and that mirror our own lives and there are also some that we do not believe in or endorse, hence he does not call us Gorean.

For the most part, there are different parts of what could be defined as a Gorean lifestyle. There is simply the philosophy set forth in the books (The author was a philosophy professor) and then there are the M/s and cultural aspects.

The Gorean philosophy deals with what Norman penned in his novels about a myriad of things. Each facet coming from various non-fictional cultures that were very much based on real societies here on Earth  (i.e. Norse, Native American, Roman, Greek, etc.). It speaks of the nature of males and females and what roles are most natural for each gender. The male being the Master of his environment and the woman being feminine and subservient to men. It also has a great deal to do with things of honor and integrity, defining the honor of a man to be something entirely different than that of a woman (further defining that the female slave cannot possess such a quality) and it sort of celebrates all of those differences, teaching men and women both to revel in their masculinity and femininity respectively. It is a philosophy that goes back to simpler times when man wasn't so concerned with the impact or critical eye of society but rather more so with his own life, surroundings, personal honor, and strength. Females, as the counterpart to the male, would be concerned with care-giving and service and making the man's path in life pleasurable by adapting to his needs.  Patriarchal in nature, it also views the male submissive as being someone who has "given up their manhood" so to speak as to be a Gorean male is to be in control of all that is around you. It is equally frowned upon in most Gorean circles for the female to be dominant over men. It does not fit in with what Goreans define as the "Natural order of males and females."

Now the cultural aspects and the M/s parts can stand apart from the philosophy. There are the trappings of the lifestyle itself, i.e. positions, clothing, service, etc. and also the relationship of the Gorean minded slave and the Gorean minded male. Gorean slaves although usually owned by only one man will generally defer to and serve all Gorean men because she believes and feels it is in her nature to do so. The Gorean man is generally free to discipline the errant slave of another man, however, being a man of integrity, rarely would he overstep what would be considered appropriate by the slave's owner or he would simply seek out that man first to plan whatever course of action was necessary.

Gorean protocols are somewhat simple. Men are called Master. Women who are not enslaved are called Mistress. They are considered "Free" by the community and as such, they are given deference by the Gorean slave population. Although the Gorean free woman is called Mistress, she is not a domme but rather a submissive woman who is not owned by a man. Male slaves did exist in the novels, but Norman always used them as an example of what he believed went against the nature of males.

The Gorean slave often will speak of her "Belly" or her "heat" and this is simply her burning desire to serve at the feet of strong men. She will strive to be pleasing in the eyes of all men, especially the one who owns her. We all do have limits as we live in a civilized society, however, the Gorean slave falls into that absolute M/s category. She is a slave who has given up her right to choose as long as she wishes to remain in the collar.

The books did display a great deal of B&D in the sense of the girls being in the bondage type trappings of their slavery, i.e. collars, manacles, ropes, etc. and the discipline that they received when they were found displeasing. They were whipped, worked, and punished when necessary.

S&M, however, was not very prevalent and you will find that most Goreans who are considered "Respected" amongst the greater Gorean lifestyle community do not believe that S&M is related to Gor or the Gorean lifestyle whatsoever. Norman himself penned that Sadism was largely absent from Gor. Whipping was meted out as punishment, not as a source of sexual pleasure. According to the books, the slave craved the whip for guidance and to reinforce her position but not for the physical gratification of scene type play. That is not to say that those who follow the Gorean philosophy do not engage in S&M but rather that it is not a part of the philosophy or the lifestyle itself. It is simply something that they may or may not do.

As for which aspects do and do not apply to Master and myself, well I am naturally deferent to males, however, we are not of the belief that male submissives or fem dommes are wrong. Quite the contrary, we very much believe that each person must be true to their own individual nature in order to be fulfilled and that there is not "only one acceptable way" for either gender. He is indeed a man of honor and integrity but we do not feel this makes him Gorean, it simply makes him a good man. *grin*

We are very much in an absolute M/s relationship that is in keeping with the M/s aspects of the Gorean type relationship. Master enjoys many of the aesthetic areas and protocols. He expects me to be obedient and pleasing but is also a man who prizes intelligence, spirit, and creativity.

Most Goreans that I do know live a life similar to most who follow an absolute M/s way of living. There are the usual things that infringe on the more structured parts of the lifestyle like jobs, kids, etc., but the lifestyle itself is not put on the shelf as a result. It is simply less visible in the way of trappings, verbiage, and such at these times.

The Internet has made Gor into something a bit different than it is offline. Online Gor consists of elaborate service, levels of training reflected in the colors of silks and very descriptive dances, ritual, and protocol. You will hear girls saying things like.. "I earned my red silks" or "I'm a white-silk slave" etc. These things have no foundation in the books as far as training goes, but as with many things, the Internet has added its own slant. In the novels, a red-silk girl is simply a slavegirl who is no longer a virgin. A white silk girl is a virgin. Pleasure slaves wore silks of many colors - green, yellow, red, even silks with patterns on them. Very few who live the lifestyle offline pay much attention to the color thing. Men dress their slaves in what is pleasing to their own eye for the most part.

The online Gorean serve is a much celebrated thing also. There are many rituals involved in the online serve that do not necessarily reflect the offline lifestyle. Most Gorean slaves that I know don't take three steps back and pirouette, etc., when they grab a coke for their owners. *grin* They just fetch it quickly, efficiently, and with as much grace as they can muster. :)   I believe the online conventions were created to make the atmosphere and service in chatrooms more colorful and to paint a visual image with creativity in the narrative form.

And I think I have rambled far too much already... I apologize for the length of this post, however, Gor is a subject that I am very familiar with and I am always willing to offer what I have learned to those who wish to know about it. *warm smiles*