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	TSR : O&P Wiki : Gor: history This article is part of the O&P Wiki hosted by The Slave Register This is the version from 13 Dec 06, 3:51 PM. The full history of this article will show any more recent versions. Contents John Norman The books Themes Goreans on Earth Criticisms External links Gor Gor, the Counter-Earth, is the alternate-world setting for John Norman's "Chronicles of Gor", a series of 26 novels that combine philosophy, erotica and science fiction. The customs, terminology and imagery depicted in these books has inspired a related BDSM-influenced subculture. On- and off-line followers of this lifestyle are called Goreans. John Norman John Norman, pen name of John Frederick Lange, Jr. (born June 3, 1931), is the author of the Gor series, which sold several million copies in the 1970s and early 1980s, and still has many fervent fans today. He holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University and is a professor at Queens College of the City University of New York in New York City. As well as the Gor books, Norman published a non-fictional sex manual "Imaginative Sex" in 1974, which presents a series of elaborate fantasy scenarios to be acted out (rather than advocating a real-world 24/7 lifestyle), and recommends that symbolic substitutes (such as the sound of claps) should be used instead of actual physical chastisements (such as whippings). Most of the scenarios are maledom / femsub, but a few portray men as the slaves of women, and anticipate the eroticised first-person male slave narratives of some of the Gorean novels. The books The first book, "Tarnsman of Gor", was published in 1967 and like most of the subsequent titles, was narrated by British college teacher Tarl Cabot, master swordsman and possibly Norman's alter-ego, as he engages in adventures involving humans and alien species on Gor. Books 7, 11, 19, 22, and 26 are narrated by abducted Earth women who are made slaves. Books 14, 15 and 16 are narrated by male abductee (and initially slave) Jason Marshall. Although bondage, sadism and slavery has always been present, long passages of philosophical and psychological justification for male dominance gradually increased to the point of detracting from the plots. Possible reasons include Norman's use of his then-popular series to battle the emerging feminist movement, or demand for his books was so great that they were printed without editing. In any case, the significant readership among people uncomfortable with either BDSM or his distracting justifications was lost. Themes Norman repeatedly presents pseudo-Darwinian analyses of gender differences to contend that women are the submissive natural helpers, and figurative slaves, of men. His work often takes this observation literally: heroes enslave heroines who, upon being enslaved, revel in the discovery of their natural place. Goreans on Earth The word Gorean is also applied to adherents of the philosophies espoused in Norman's writings, especially someone who lives a lifestyle based on this philosophy. While the most conspicuous Gorean departure from mainstream modern norms is that Goreans allow and indeed promote sexual master/slave relationships, many who take the Gorean worldview seriously would insist that being Gorean is not necessarily about either sex or slavery, but about the general Gorean philosophy: that is, living in accordance with a Nietzsche-esque natural order, sponsoring a hierarchy of talent, especially strength. For years there has been an active fan base on the Internet, particularly on IRC channels which sprang up during the mid-1990s, offering Gorean roleplaying in the style of online BDSM. Almost all writers and websites advocating the Gorean philosophy have grown out of online roleplay environments. Criticisms Goreanism is a naive application of Darwinism, confusing sexual and social dominance. Everything useful in Gorean D/s is present in mainstream D/s; everything unique to Gorean D/s is not useful in real-life D/s. The concept of failure expounded with Gorean D/s provides "slaves" with a veto over the relationship. External links Gor, Gorean, John Norman articles in Wikipedia The Big Problem With Gor by Billie Brewster (This article incorporates text from the Gor and John Norman articles in Wikipedia.) This article is published under the terms of the GFDL. People with profiles on The Slave Register can improve this article: see the O&P Wiki help page for details.