What is this Gor?

Sheraka Sirnah

One of the things that I’ve found most entertaining about blogging is that you can see what search terms drive people to your site.   “Eat your own dogfood” and “Mayor McCheese” and “Linden Labs + ass” were all real searches that somehow drove people to my site.   The other week, however, a search that found my site got me thinking: “Free Gorean Avitars” (their spelling, not mine!); I realized that I’ve been in Second Life for nearly two years and other than all of the stereotypical things you hear about kajira and silks and the poor treatment of women, that I actually know very little about Gor.   Being the curious sort, I found myself wondering:  Were the stereotypes accurate?  What is Gor in SL really like?  I knew I probably wasn’t alone in this, so I thought I would try to find someone to interview.

I started by doing a quick search on Google and found Sheraka Sirnah’s blog.  Her blog seemed to indicate that there was more to Gor than I first thought, so we traded IMs in-world and she agreed to be interviewed.  I met with Sheraka in her very lovely home sim.  We ended up having a very long conversation about some of the main concepts of Gor, accurate Gor versus “Disney Gor,”  and the role of women in Gorean society.   Curious to learn more?  Read our conversation after the jump!

Charlanna Beresford:  Hi Sheraka, thanks for taking the time to talk.  So, did you come to SL for Gor?  Or did you find Gor in SL?

Sheraka Sirnah: Of course!  No, I did not come to SL for Gor.  It was actually here that I heard of it the first time.

It was actually quite funny how.  I was on one of those beaches. You know the ones where clothing is optional and every second sentence is “wanna fuck?”  So I was at the beach in swimming costume, sitting at the bar and talking rubbish and one girl caught my attention.   She was wearing leopard style leather briefs along with a bow and a dagger and she looked a bit dirty and wild.  And I talked to her, and she told me about this other world where she lives in a big forest with other women who fled the society of that world.  I felt like I was watching the Discovery channel.  So I decided to try it and went with her to the Northern Forests of Gor as a panther girl.  She bought me my first bow.

Charlanna Beresford: And it just took off from there?

Sheraka Sirnah: Basically yes, but in between I changed my character and storyline, and Sheraka was born.

Charlanna Beresford: So Sheraka wasn’t your first avatar in SL?

Sheraka Sirnah: No.  It wasn’t. To become a woman of high caste is just not plausible with a panther girl background so I created another account.

Charlanna Beresford: Which brings me to my basic ignorance of Gor; I don’t know much other than it is based on a series of novels and that the predominant image is that of rough men and women as sexual slaves.

Sheraka Sirnah: That is actually what most people think. In fact the entire series is about what the author calls the true human nature. That includes that women are by nature submissive and men dominant.  Also, the slave relationships are an analogy to demonstrate that philosophy.  The writer is actually a professor of philosophy who shares a lot of the ideas of Nietzsche, Darwin and Pythagoras.

Charlanna Beresford: Who wrote the books and what is the title of the first one?

Sheraka Sirnah: The author is John Norman; the first one is called “Tarnsmen of Gor.”

Charlanna Beresford: I assume that there is more to what he meant to true human nature than just women being submissive and men dominant?

Sheraka Sirnah: A lot more.  For example, one of the most important concepts a Gorean believes is the Home Stone.  The story around Home Stones and the cult Goreans make around that Stone is Norman’s analogy that true human nature involves a great deal of local patriotism. In the books Goreans would die for their home.

Charlanna Beresford: How does that translate into SL?

Sheraka Sirnah: A Gorean in SL chooses a city to play as a citizen of that city and role plays a Home Stone fanatic.  Unfortunately, not all role players play it like that, as many just don’t read the books and are ignorant to what Gor really is.

Charlanna Beresford: So it is it safe to say there is a range of Gorean RP communities in SL?  Some that strictly adhere to the books while others are only loosely based?

Sheraka Sirnah: Yes, that is correct.  The loosely based we call Disney Gor.   They are solely for the pew pew or sexual entertainment of the players.  Nothing to do with the philosophy or the books at all.

Charlanna Beresford: Do you believe that these communities give people the general perception of  Gor in SL?

Sheraka Sirnah: Yes, I think so; they just take that part of Gor and try to look cool and rough. Possibly weaklings that are not men in RL and found a place where they can be true machos.

Charlanna Beresford: What percentage of Gor RP in SL closely follows the books?  Any guess?

Sheraka Sirnah: I would say less than twenty percent.  You’ll also find that those sims have really great architecture.

Charlanna Beresford: So if someone were really curious to learn more about accurate Gor in SL, how could they find out?

Sheraka Sirnah: The best is just read the books and have a look at this: www.goreanforums.com.

Charlanna Beresford: And then the Gorean forums can help you better select which world to choose in SL?

Sheraka Sirnah: Yes, because there are a lot of very serious roleplayers but in the end its personal preference.

Charlanna Beresford: So for someone coming into Gorean RP, they have tremendous choice on how they want to be?

Sheraka Sirnah: Of course, but most choose wrong in the beginning, like I did.  Hahahaha!  Most  chose not knowing what the roles actually are.  They come uniformed.  I highly recommend that everybody who wants to enter Gor read at least one of the books.   In addition, there are different cultures on Gor described in different books.  So one should read the book that is about the culture you want to enter.

Another basic foundation of Gorean society is the caste system.  It is important to know about the castes before entering Gor.  Each Gorean is born into a caste. His father’s caste, usually.   Goreans believe that your genetic heritage determines what you are.  They believe that a human being can only be fulfilled if he/she lives what and who he/she is.  Anything else is hypocritical and makes people unhappy.

Charlanna Beresford: So Goreans believe our lives are essentially pre-destined?

Sheraka Sirnah: Not our lives, but what we are.  Somebody who is a warrior is warrior because his genetic origins are those of the warriors. He was born into the caste of warriors.   It’s a bit like this: If you are born as a snake you can’t be a bird.  Snakes don’t fly.  Got it?

Charlanna Beresford: Yes.  Can you tell me more about the castes you mentioned?  How many are there total?

Sheraka Sirnah:   The castes are actually divided in low and high castes.  But there are just five high castes; these are the ones that most contribute to Gorean society.   All others are more like guilds or professions.  The five high castes are in order of importance: The Initiates, the spiritual guardians of Gor.   The Scribes, the intellectuals of Gor.  Then there are the Builders, the Physicians, and the Warriors. The remainder are called low castes like the merchants, the peasants, the sailors, the assassins.  As you can see there is a lot more then rough men beating slave girls!

Charlanna Beresford: Yes, I can.  And what about slaves?

Sheraka Sirnah: Yes, another foundation of Gorean culture is the concept of slavery.  The concept of slavery has a purpose; it takes “lower gens” out of the process of evolution.  The survival of the fittest as in Darwin’s theories.  The weak end up serving the strong and do not take part in reproduction as such other then slave breeding.   They get what is called slave wine which prevents pregnancy.  But are used a lot for sexual pleasures.

Charlanna Beresford: So all slaves are women?

Sheraka Sirnah: No, but most.  Sometimes male criminals get sentenced to slavery.

Charlanna Beresford: I’m very curious about the experience of women in Gor.  Maybe it is because there are so many Disney Gor opportunities that sound really nasty to women.  If someone were to ask you, “What is the experience of the average woman in Gor?”  What would you say?

Sheraka Sirnah: The average woman on Gor is a free woman of any caste who is some kind of the energy giving lady behind a real man.  She is a free companion of a true Gorean and having his children.

Charlanna Beresford: And for this free woman, what is her role in Gorean society?

Sheraka Sirnah: Mother and a very respected person.

Charlanna Beresford: I’m trying to also understand what it means for someone like you, a woman of the high caste of Scribes.   I mean, you don’t strike me as terribly submissive.

Sheraka Sirnah: I am not submissive at all!

Sheraka Sirnah laughs

Sheraka Sirnah: There is nothing more respected on Gor then an honorable free woman.  You know, we just respect that we are different.  There is no such thing as being equal. We are not!!!  But we are not inferior either….just different.  An example:  What do you think Gorean men do when a free woman enters a room?

Charlanna Beresford: Stand?

Sheraka Sirnah: Yes.   The reason being is that she is not a slave and managed in a male dominated world to have status.  Goreans appreciate a lot and that is the kind of woman they want as the mother of their offspring.  They make sure to earn the respect of the community and make sure they are not looked at as slavish.  If she was a weak woman she would wear a collar and would be at his feet.

This actually gets me to an important subject: Gorean values.  For a free Gorean person there is nothing more important than HONOR.  Let me give you an example.  There was a situation in one of the books, where a guy spread dishonorable rumors about somebody.   The rumor was that another man had dishonored a free woman.  Well, the guy that the rumors were spread about was talking to an Earthling about the subject and said,  “I will challenge him to death; he thinks I am a coward.”   The earthling answered: “He might kill you.”  The Gorean answered “so it shall be.”  The Earthling said: “You want to risk your live for mere points of honor?”  The Gorean answered: “There are no mere points of honor.”  The most important value was his answer: “There are no mere points of honor.”  And each caste has their own caste codes of honor and conduct.

Charlanna Beresford: Do they differ greatly among castes?

Sheraka Sirnah: Each caste is a bit different.   The Scribes, for example:  number one in their caste code is total integrity of their words.  A scribe prides himself that whatever he says is true.   The most dishonorable thing for a scribe is a lie.  He /she might get expelled from the caste for a simple lie.

Charlanna Beresford: And what would happen to that person?

Sheraka Sirnah: That person becomes an outlaw.  He/she is not welcome anymore in her/his city and must leave or die.  That way the Gorean society reserves only the best to reproduce and form the perfect society.   It is really social-Darwinism.

Charlanna Beresford: Through maintaining honor? And structure? And values?

Sheraka Sirnah: Yes and strong penalties for those who don’t comply.

Now from what I have told you so far, what would you think of a female warrior on Gor?

Charlanna Beresford: I would think she would be very respected but would she be rare?

Sheraka Sirnah: There are no female warriors on Gor.

Charlanna Beresford: Gah!  I almost said that!

Sheraka Sirnah: A Gorean woman feels HONORED when men protect her and the man has the physical strength to do so.  Again a matter of honor.

Charlanna Beresford: Are there any roles that men do not have in Gor?

Sheraka Sirnah: Good question. A man can do whatever on Gor.  There is a saying on Gor: “A man can do as he wishes, until the sword of another shows him his limits”.  Sounds cruel, I know.

Charlanna Beresford: And are there similar sayings for women?

Sheraka Sirnah: Lots. “For a man a woman is a riddle, to which the answer is the collar.”  But I’ll show you the best one.  Read this…

Sheraka leads me to a picture on the wall with the following quote:

“But remember, he said, smiling, “it is slaves who are assessed and have their prices.  Free women are priceless.”

Sheraka Sirnah: Got the message?

Charlanna Beresford: Yes…but let me use you as an example.  You are free and have earned high-esteem in the community.  Let’s say some man of an appropriate caste begins courting you because he is looking for someone to be the mother of his children.   What happens to your freedom then?

Sheraka Sirnah: Then we would engage to what is called a free companionship.  Similar to marriage on Earth.  I would still be the same free woman.  That is where the difference is.  Free women are thought to be companions, slaves for pleasure.  But if you talk about the same subject to a slave girl, she would answer only a slave is truly free.

Charlanna Beresford: And why is that?

Sheraka Sirnah: Because they live their sexuality as a submissive woman to the fullest. No shame, no honor, no nothing.  Just the wild sensual no committing fuck.

Charlanna Beresford: But how is that truly free?  They don’t get to decide who they are with, do they?

Sheraka Sirnah: No, but they have no commitments other their femininity.  No one judges them.

Charlanna Beresford: So it is complete freedom with their sensuality and sexuality?

Sheraka Sirnah: That’s what they think.  They’re slaves, what would you expect?

Charlanna Beresford: Just a couple of quick last questions if you don’t mind.

Sheraka Sirnah: Yes, of course.

Charlanna Beresford: Has being involved with Gor in SL had any effect on your RL?

Sheraka Sirnah: Yes.  More and more, I get into the philosophy of it and apply it to real life decisions.  I start thinking of what I am really, and who I am, and I start applying the principles of honor and integrity in my RL.   I have always been honorable and honest but it became so much more important since I’ve done Gor.   I also judge people differently.   I divide the world in strong honorable people and…slaves.  Weird?

Charlanna Beresford: I don’t know enough about the books to say one way or another.  How slaves are really defined in the books.  That must be interesting at times, though.  What would you most want the average non-Gorean SLer to know after reading our conversation?  Both about Sheraka and Gor?

Sheraka Sirnah: Maybe one thing.   Gor is a roleplay environment that is based on a philosophy and I wish that everybody entering Gor would take it as what it is and take it seriously.  Or at least respect that there are people who do indeed take it seriously.   It’s not WoW or Counterstrike and if you come to change it because you are in disagreement with our morals or ethics or beliefs…then just stay away.

Charlanna Beresford: Does that happen often?

Sheraka Sirnah: Very often yes, there are some that come to tell us what perverts we are and then leave.  But there is also those who believe in “evolved Gor.”   Evolved Gor is a bunch of people who like the idea of chasing slave girls around, fight with others and ignore the fundamentals of what Gor is all about.   They argue that Gor has evolved.  Bullocks!

Charlanna Beresford: Evolved into?

Sheraka Sirnah: Into their vision of what Gor SHOULD be in their clueless opinion.  They do not even read a book.

Charlanna Beresford: Thank you so much for your time  and candor.  I know that I came to our conversation with some preconceived notions, but I was very interested to learn more.

Sheraka Sirnah: Did I change your perception of Gor?

Charlanna Beresford: In some ways yes, in some no. There is more self-determination and choice and opportunity than I expected.  But the part that I don’t know — and would need to see to understand — is that the difference between men and women in Gor results in respect that would make me feel comfortable.   I’m not saying that it is bad, I’m simply not certain if I would enjoy it.

Sheraka Sirnah: That’s what most women say until experiencing it.  I think you need to read one of the books; they are available here on scrolls.

Charlanna Beresford: I’ve got the first one and will have a look at it.   Well, thank you again.

Sheraka Sirnah: My pleasure!