"Women are not the same as men. That women are the same as men, and should be treated as such would be regarded by Goreans as an insanity, and one which would be cruelly deprivational to the female, robbing her of her uniqueness, her delicious specialness, in a sense of her very self."...Vagabonds of Gor, pg. 138
It is a difficult and perilous undertaking for a Gorean free woman to maintain her status... in fact, a Gorean free woman is expected to choose the option of free and honorable death rather than accept the fate of living in slavery. In practice, however, this rarely occurs. Few women, even Gorean women of high caste and social position, will willingly choose to suffer a grisly death rather than brave the degradations of bondage. Nevertheless, occasionally they do so, and the honor of such free women is exalted to the skies. It is widely said of such women that they were truly free in their hearts and therefore died free, and it is the actions of such persons which support the ancient Gorean belief that perhaps not ALL women were born to be enslaved. Most Gorean free women would rarely visit, much less frequent, a public paga tavern, as such places are, in essence, a Gorean cross between a strip-joint and a brothel. The men who visit such places do so because they have come to have sex with the slaves for the price of a cup of paga, or because they wish to take their ease and comfort in such a den of disrepute. Brawls, arguments, and killings are not uncommon in many such places... it is no wonder that in some cities, leagues of concerned free women have banded together in an effort to restrict and prohibit the existence of such establishments within the walls of their respective cities. Such efforts are rarely effective, however, since it is a well-established fact that Gorean males are most insistent upon retaining such places as outlets whereby they can vent their more fierce and primal urges upon the bodies of the serving slaves within. It is through the existence of such outlets that Gorean free women are able to retain their rights and status in Gorean society, for if the urges and needs of randy Gorean males were allowed to become pent up within them, perhaps no free woman upon Gor would be safe from the collar. There are, however, several recorded instances of free women who visited paga taverns in the Gor books. About half the time they behaved foolishly and wound up enslaved, like the Lady Beverly in Rogue of Gor; the rest of the time they drank their paga and conducted their business relatively safely. It would seem that the outcome of such visits depended greatly upon the general attitude and behavior of the free woman in question. The safety of a free woman within a particular paga tavern also seems to vary according to such factors as the time of the day, the strength of the current batch of paga, and the location of the particular tavern in the city. There are good paga taverns and bad paga taverns, just as there are safe neighborhoods and dangerous ones. Normally free women tend to avoid the more vicious and brutal examples of such establishments, and can instead be found sipping ka-la-na and black wine in the streetside bistros of the city, or even downing kal-da in a well-lit public kal-da house, more often than they can be seen in the dim shadowy recesses of a paga tavern. It is an unusual fact that the traditional crime of rape seldom if ever occurs upon Gor, at least to those women who retain their status as free women. This is due, no doubt, to the fact that to most Gorean males such measures are unnecessary: it is far easier and quicker to have sex with a collared slavegirl than to risk the wrath of the city or village magistrates, not to mention the male relatives of the free woman involved. Since, however, it is a fairly simple thing for most Gorean males to capture or collar a free woman (particularly one from another city), all free women must take great care to protect themselves from that particular threat. This can be accomplished in a number of different ways, most notably by wearing the traditional veils and robes of concealment.... few men would be foolish enough to collar a woman whose features they have not seen, and once the act of enslavement begins, typically there is no turning back. Another way in which a free woman can protect herself is through the use of hired bodyguards, or by forming and maintaining platonic relationships with skilled Warriors who might protect her should she find herself endangered. The use of trained animals such as guard sleen might also be a good idea, for those moments when a free woman finds herself alone in the streets or upon the high bridges of her city. The pride of the free women of his city is very important to the typical Gorean warrior... in his mind, though the free women of other cities are open game to be captured for sport or profit, the free women who share his Home Stone are sacrosanct, aloof and virtuous creatures who are worthy of constant respect and protection. These are, after all, the mothers, daughters and sisters of both himself and his comrades, and are therefore to be treasured and respected at all costs. The key trait a Gorean warrior expects to find in the free women of his city is "virtuous." To the Gorean mind, any woman who possesses the raw lust and submissive desire openly displayed by collared slavegirls deserves to be one, and if a free woman's actions seem to suggest that she either secretly or openly wishes to be enslaved, sooner or later she will be called forth to disprove such accusations. Nevertheless, the honor in which a true free woman is held is so great that normally several such offenses must be committed before she is stripped and collared. A free woman will first be warned to abstain from slave-like behavior... if she continues to behave so, then to the mind of the Gorean male, and according to the rules of Gorean society, she is actively seeking enslavement.
Similarly a free woman who willingly places herself into a perilous situation in which enslavement might be the outcome is assumed by most Gorean males to be "courting the collar." In such instances it is generally accepted practice to bestow upon the free woman the very thing which she so seems to want, a brand and collar of her very own. If at any time a free woman loses all means of self-protection and falls prey to a Warrior or one who is stronger than she, she is said to be within the boundaries of "capture rites." If she is to be held for ransom, then she retains her free status... she is not branded or collared, though depending upon the whim of her captor she might be facestripped or put to sexual use. During the period of her captivity she does not refer to freemen as Master, but rather as "Captor." In some cases she is simply chained in the holding of her captor and ignored until she can be exchanged for ransom. Since free women of high caste typically fetch a ransom equal to or in excess of their bride price, the richer and more powerful her family the greater her chance of being ransomed. For a poor free woman, perhaps of the peasants or a similar low caste, she can usually not expect such treatment. In such a case the free woman in question typically may expect nothing better than either her enslavement, if she proves to be pleasing, or her execution if she is not. It is important to remember that when a Gorean city or settlement is conquered, typically all male survivors of that city are immediately put to death... in short, Goreans rarely take prisoners of war. When all things are considered, therefore, if her Home Stone is conquered, at least a free woman has a better chance of surviving, even as a slave, than do the freemen of her city.
The Free Companioned Free Woman is so similar to a collared slave. With every movement she makes, she reflects on her Mate. She serves him, and obeys his orders. Should she step outside of his tolerance, she may find herself corrected. Her punishment can come in many forms. She may be restricted from some of her more pleasurable duties. She might find herself being chained to remind her of her place. She is at the mercy of her Free Companion, much like a slave. But she is not a slave. She will bear his children, educating them in the way of Free People. She will manage his home for him, making sure everything is in its order for his pleasure. When he entertains his guests, She is his Hostess, making sure all are well looked after, and not in need for anything. In the absence of slaves, she will find herself serving his guests, not as a slave, but as his hostess. The Free Women Free Companion is a unique person. While she is submissive and often serves to some point, she is indeed free, and enjoys all the entitlements of a Free Person of Gor. Most Men will not insult the Free Companioned Free Woman as easily as they might do an Unattached Free Woman. Doing so may bring down the wrath of her Free Companion, and not many are fool hardy enough to bring about such actions.
The way the rite is invoked is this: the free woman typically facestrips herself, publicly announces that she willingly submits to the individual she has chosen, and then assumes "the Position of Female Submission," wherein the free woman kneels at her captor's feet and leans her body back, sitting upon her heels, with her arms extended upward, crossed at the wrists, and her head beneath them lowered in supplication. If the male accepts her, she becomes his slave and forfeits all titles, rank and property immediately. If he does not, she accepts the consequences of her actions, even if it means her death. It should be obvious that a free woman does not invoke the Rite of Submission hastily or without much consideration, as the very act can cost her her life.
The Robes of Concealment worn by free women in the high cities are elaborate affairs, and are subject to the dictates of the current fashion in her city. They can be highly personal modes of garb, cut and fashioned in countless ways and in numerous styles, according to the whims and desires of the wearer and the restrictions imposed by local sumptuary laws. Nevertheless, they universally have these things in common:
The Last Veil: the innermost of the five veils worn by free women; it is worn under the veil of the citizeness, and is often very sheer. Also known as the "privacy veil" or "modesty veil," it is worn in all places except within the private chambers of the free woman.
"I have never been in one of these places before," she said..."I now understand why it is that free women never enter Paga taverns."...Assassin of Gor, pg. 22
"`If you may pleasure yourself in taverns,' she said, `surely so, too, may I.' A few suggestions and notes on expected behavior: Remember your status! A free woman is proud, but she does not challenge or insult. To do so is to invite a face-stripping. A tavern is typically full of Warriors, and one of the things that Warriors do is collar and enslave free women. To draw attention to yourself by making yourself a nuisance to such men is foolhardy to say the least. Be attractive, witty, graceful, and behave with honor, and you will be treated with the respect due to one your station. Some Gorean males may take action to protect you from overzealous Masters in search of a slave, as long as you do not actively provoke such unwanted attention. This tendency, as well as others, depends entirely upon the customs of the particular tavern and the laws of the city you are in. The laws of the city of Ar, for instance, are quite specific regarding the disposition of free women who invite enslavement. Act like a slave, and you will wind up as one. Behave like the lady you are, and perhaps earn the respect and honor of Gorean males. Your choice. A Gorean free woman does not draw a weapon against another individual unless she is under attack. Beware! According to his codes, to draw a weapon against a member of the Warrior Caste is to place yourself within his capture rights. This includes drawing weapons and placing them on a table or displaying such objects in a threatening manner to others in the room, without suitable provocation. There are no panther girls or talunas in the High Cities of Gor, which include Ar, Ko-ro-ba, Tharna, Thentis, Turia, Treve, and many other major settlements. All free women in these cities are expected to wear the robes of concealment and veil themselves in public at all times. The only exceptions to this practice tend to be in Tharna, where few if any free women are allowed, and in Ko-ro-ba, where the customs regarding free women's fashion are somewhat lax. A Gorean free woman may own and use slaves, both male and female, as she sees fit. However, at the present time there is a city ordinance in Ar which prohibits the sexual use of male slaves by free women of that city, on penalty of enslavement. Of course, if you are not of Ar, then you are perhaps exempt from this particular law. Remember however that those free women not of Ar might fall prey to chain luck while visiting that city if they are not careful. Extreme caution is advised. It would probably not be a wise course of action to get drunk while visiting a Gorean drinking establishment. If you do allow yourself to become too inebriated to defend yourself, then all bets are off. Those free women who are worthy of respect will receive it, much the same way that men earn such if they deserve it. These women retain their freedom, and in this case respect, in the eyes of the men around them as a reaction to certain qualities they possess, these foremost being a continuous display of the virtue, grace and dignity of a free woman, along with an observed and appreciated worth that would be somehow lost if that woman were taken as a slave and/or considered such. Gorean free women who are secure in what they are do not compete with men or challenge them as a means to seek attention or prove themselves, they have no need. Their dignity compels them to a higher standard, while an understanding of and pride in their sex removes any feeling of inferiority they may have due to a misinformed society's teachings. While deferential to dominant men, this somewhat submissive nature is not to be confused with the surrender of a slave girl. Free women respect men for who and what they are, and in turn are acknowledged as something worthy of the same respect and recognition. They are companions to their men, providing them with the support, insight, wisdom, love and strength that is particular to a female, with their femininity being a compliment to the masculinity of the male, each bringing out more of the nature of the other. Simply declaring yourself a Gorean free woman does not make you so. While it is true you may be a woman, and may be free, the title you seek requires much more than just those things, or even a knowledge of Gor. True free women embody the glory and femininity of their sex, standing next to their men not as inferiors or competitors, but as women. This is something they must acknowledge in their own hearts, and be secure in, before they then seek the acceptance of the men who they would stand before. Anything less will be recognized for what it truly is.
FREE WOMEN ON GOR, ONLINE AND OFFLINE Well, folks, what I'm about to write are my views on this subject. While it is of course based on the Gorean philosophies (arguably, the Gorean philosophies as I interpret them), it is not based on the books, as you will see. So feel free to quote me as you desire, but when people start arguing with you don't look to the books for help. ; ) So, without further ado... I give you "Free Women", from a Jarl's-eye view: Norman writes very little about free women in his books, concentrating much more on the Master/slave relationship, and the philosophies of men. Gor is, after all, a man's world. Here are a few excerpts of what he does have to say about the Gorean free woman:
"The slave girls groveled at her feet. Slave girls fear free women muchly. It is almost as if there were some unspoken war between them, almost as if they might be mortal enemies. In such a war, or such an enmity, of course, the slave girl is completely at
the mercy of the free person; she is only slave. One of the great fears of a slave girl is that she will be sold to a woman. Free women treat their female slaves with incredible hatred and cruelty. Why this is I do not know. Some say it is because they, the free women, envy the girls their collars and wish that they, too, were collared, and at the complete mercy of masters."
"`You are a woman,' I told her. `Dare to be it.'
"`The free women,' I said, `lies down, and waits to see what will happen. The female slave kneels beside her master, and begs to please him. The free woman deems it sufficient that she should exist, the slave girl, on the other hand, is expected not only to exist but to excel; indeed, she fears only, commonly that she may not be sufficiently marvelous for her master. It is little wonder that most men find the free woman in her inertness, her ignorance and arrogance, boring. It is little wonder that most men prefer to order her rival to their furs, the helpless, collared, curvacious, lascivious, feminine slave.'" That's a fairly typical example of Norman's writings on free women There are plenty more on the same thread in his other books. I merely chose these quotes because I picked up those books first. ; ) Norman depicts the Gorean man as proactive, assertive, masculine, dominant and strong. Norman depicts the Gorean kajira as submissive, exposed, exquisite, feminine, pleasing, delicious and desirable. Throughout the books, Norman at various times describes the free woman as: Arrogant. Petty. Ignorant. Frigid. Inert. Boring. Spiteful. Well... I disagree. Norman speaks on the subject of free women through Tarl. Tarl doesn't respect a lot of free women- in fact, he all but describes them as slaves (considering the fact that they are legally free, that's a tad unfair); but Tarl is biased - his experience with free women and Free Companions hasn't exactly been beneficial (read the first few pages of Marauders for a look at Tarl's beautiful ex-Free Companion Talena). Nevertheless, Norman, through Tarl, tends to describe the free woman in less than appealing terms. Here's what I think of the free woman: First up, remember that Norman tells us in the books that there are between forty and fifty free women for every slave on Gor. Now you can debate that figure if you wish, but even with a one-to-one ratio what I'm about to say holds true. We may not know a lot about the free woman, but we do know a lot about the Gorean male's mentality. As noted above, Norman concentrates primarily on the Master/slave relationship and the Gorean man's philosophies. Ergo, we can easily draw from the books the fact that a Gorean man is not likely to take any shit from a woman who is arrogant, petty, ignorant, frigid, inert, boring or spiteful. I should just point out at this stage that yes, I'm generalizing. But we generalize all the time about Gor. For example, we say that "Most women on Earth should be slaves", and we say that "most males on earth are not men - they're not even strong enough to grab their manhood with both hands." We also generalise about Gor. We say "Most Gorean males are men." I would emphasize the "most" here. Norman shows us often that this is only a generalization, with examples in the books and with the actions of specific characters. The Gorean society, just like other societies, has its scum. However, the Gorean society, generally, is made up of strong Gorean men; men who are not only Gorean because they live on Gor, but Gorean by our definition of Gorean - in other words, Gorean because they live the principles, philosophies and ethos of Gor as much as possible within their daily lives. (When you're on Gor, that's really possible to quite a degree ; ) ). So, to get back to the point. The point is that no Gorean man is going to allow a free woman to behave as Norman says she behaves in his presence, in my opinion. Gor is a man's world, and the men aren't going to compromise. Also, the free women are Gorean, and *know* that Gor is a man's world. They're naive to seriously expect compromise - and few, I suspect, do. Furthermore, when a woman is in the presence of a man whom she knows is really a man, she tends to feel her own biological submissiveness quite keenly, and react accordingly. Next, Norman glosses over the Free Companionship, even though this must be an extremely large part of Gorean culture and society. It is highly unlikely that any Gorean man is going to enter into a companionship with a woman who posseses the characteristics listed above. Too, he could instead have a slave. Why then would he choose to have a free woman (aside from them being cheaper ; ) )? The facts as I see them are these: The Gorean free woman knows her place within the man's world that is Gor - she is dependent on men. The Gorean free woman is a woman surrounded by many strong men. She cannot help but respond to this naturally. If she denies or fights her natural response, she ends up either frustrated and lonely, or frustrated and then enslaved. If instead she accepts it, she is submissive - to whatever degree. And there are many degrees of submission. The Gorean man is a strong individual, who does things because he wishes to (though within the bounds of codes, duty, and honour). Thus he takes a free woman as he Companion for a reason. One may presume, therefore, that there is an appeal of a free woman over a slave.
These are the facts by the books. Now the facts of my experience:
The men love their companion, and desire her over and above any slave. These are the facts, from which you may draw your own conclusions. My conclusions are: The free woman has something that a slave does not; a certain something which makes her appeal to the Gorean man. This "something" could be: Her freedom, pure and simple. A Gorean man can not regard a slave as his equal, and perhaps certain men wish to have a woman who is their equal. A free woman is far closer to that then a slave can ever be. But this seems to me to be over-simple - if it is a factor at all, I think it a small one. A free woman is a free for a reason. What is the reason for a free woman's freedom? Perhaps it is something in her spirit or soul which cannot allow her to be enslaved. Perhaps the man realizes that, if he were to enslave his companion, this intangible "something" would be permanently crushed and lost. And perhaps too, this thing which sets a free woman apart from a slave has value. To recap in a slightly clearer way, I believe the free woman to be submissive to her Free Companion, and yet not in the total manner in which a slave must be. Further, I believe this incomplete submission of the free woman to be the result of a part of her character, personality or spirit, the existence of which being what makes her freedom desirable to her Free Companion as a Free Companion. The existance of this part of her, combined with the strengths she has as a person, makes her the free and equal companion for the man, but in the female manner, providing him with love and companionship. For his part, he values her as she is, and realizes that to enslave her would be to change the person she is, and while he knows that he can, as does she, he chooses not to for his sake as much as hers. Thus, the free woman is superior to the slave - albeit in the eyes of a particular man. Unfortunately, I cannot put a name to this elusive quality which I am certain exists. Perhaps this is because it is different in each free woman - spiritual in one, character-oriented in another, etc. Perhaps others may provide enlightenment here, but I suspect it is more likely that each free woman is unique. Even assuming all the above is widely accepted (damn, that's unlikely {g}), there is still no role for the free woman on Gorean IRC, in my opinion. Sure, they can sit and talk, express their views, and contribute to the community like anyone else. But the free woman on Gorean IRC who abides by the cultural restrictions of free woman on Gor would have few prospects for advancement on Gorean IRC. I suspect, therefore, that not only are there women on Gorean IRC who are not aware that free women can be submissive, but also that there are women on Gorean IRC who are aware that, as "traditionally arrogant" free women, they would have no success interacting with Gorean men. It follows therefore that some of the slaves on Gorean IRC might very well be better off as free women, in the role I have describe above, were they able to be so offline.
I wish you all well,
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