Lorelei115 -> RE: How do you feel about Gor? (1/3/2007 10:44:15 AM)
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I have a special area of pissed-offedness in my head just for Gor. When I first became aware of the lifestyle, it was because the whole thing bothered me on such a fundamental level, and I wanted to figure out why. I HATED the concept that women (and yes I thought it was only women at that time) were "naturally" submissive and if taken in hand by a man would come to revel in her slavery. So I started to research. Unfortunately, one of the first "research materials" that was suggested to me was the Gor books. Bad advice, but hell, I didn't know any better. So, I read the book, (I started with The Dancer of Gor) and found all my concepts about the lifestyle confirmed. It told me there was a natural order to things and women had just damn well better get used to it. Also, the writing style made me laugh. I really think I could have handled it though, if not for the part at the end where the fourth wall was not only broken but smashed to itty bitty peices, where the main character says she wants all the women of Earth to realize they are slaves at heart too. Phooey. Luckily, I later found other, better research materials and talked with people who are in the lifestyle, and realize that no, indeed, that was NOT the way all bdsm was, and actually a lot of Goreans don't even consider themselves part of bdsm. Was any of this Gor or John Norman's fault, and does it negate the entire concept of Gor? Nope, not at all. It was a combination of my inexperience and some bad advice. If Gor is what someone does, and makes them happy, more power to them. For me, however, it is a very negative and touchy thing because of my earliest experiences with it.
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