From time to time, every man who follows the Gorean Way will find himself in a position where his woman has been sufficiently, and knowingly, displeasing enough to warrant punishment of some sort. The first question arises, however, is punishment actually necessary? Some would say that an adult should be aware and intelligent enough to not behave in a fashion that merits a punishment, and that if such behavior occurs that it reflects other, deeper problems to be resolved. This is quite possible, however, the basic fact that the woman has behaved in a manner that was very displeasing to her man.

In the books, it’s stated clearly that the displeasure of a man is not to be taken lightly by his woman, be she free or slave.

If she has not pleased her Master of late, she may be, of course, as a disciplinary measure, simply chained nude to the slave ring in the bottom of the couch, sans both the blanket and the mat. The stones of the floor are hard and the Gorean nights cold and it is a rare girl who, when unchained in the morning, does not seek more dutifully to serve her master. This harsh treatment, incidentally, when she is thought to deserve it, may even be inflicted on a free companion, in spite of the fact that she is free and usually much loved. According to the Gorean way of looking at things a taste of the slave ring is thought to be occasionally beneficial to all women, even the exalted free woman. Thus when she has been irritable or otherwise troublesome even a Free Companion may find herself at the foot of the couch looking forward to a pleasant night on the stones, stripped, with neither mat nor blanket, chained to the slave ring precisely as though she were a lowly slave girl. It is the Gorean way of reminding her, should she need to be reminded, that she, too, is a woman, and thus to be dominated, to be subject to men. Should she be tempted to forget this basic fact of Gorean life the slave ring set in the bottom of each Gorean couch is there to refresh her memory. Gor is a mans world.

Priest-Kings of Gor page 67

So why would an adult, an otherwise intelligent woman, commit an act that she most likely was well aware would displease her man? Perhaps to gain attention that she thinks is lacking. Perhaps to test his will, to see if he is strong enough to discipline her. Perhaps simply to reassure herself that her boundaries are yet intact. Or maybe it is to see if he still cares enough to do what is necessary, still cares enough about her and their relationship to maintain it. The reasons will vary, and ultimately, whatever the reason may be, it will not change the fact that the woman has done something to merit discipline, punishment.

On the other hand, it is not too unusual a set of compartments on Gor where the master, in effect, willingly wears the collar, and his lovely slave, by the practice of the delightful wiles of her sex, with scandalous success wheedles her way triumphantly from the satisfaction of one whim to the next.

Outlaws of Gor page 51

For all of those reasons it is necessary for the man to take action, and perhaps also to reaffirm and know his own ability and strength to mete out punishment. It is altogether too easy for a woman to have been so pleasing that a man might begin to overlook small lapses, to rationalize and accept more and more excesses and abuses on the part of his woman.

Disciplinary measures serve other purposes as well. They not only declare to the woman that the displeasing behavior will not be tolerated, that she is being held to the man’s standards. That he cares enough about her to ensure that she will be truly superb to him. Discipline and punishment give a clear system of consequence to actions. This may seem obvious, but if you compare it to a more conventional relationship where consequences are either non-existant or petty and vague, the value can be more clearly seen.

We live in a world where consequences for our actions are not always readily apparent, and are often not commensurate with the action, good or bad. This is one of the things that the books display again and again; that there are always consequences to what we choose to do, and this perhaps makes it much easier for people to see what the proper course of action is. In the Gorean relationship between a man and a woman, clear consequences means that each knows better how to behave, what to expect. Each knows their place with respect to the other. Each knows what is acceptible to the other, and what is not. It is a measure of surety and security, a form of communication that far exceeds that of many conventional relationships.

The best disciplines and punishments are those which are exactly equal to the offense which was committed. This cannot be over-stressed. The Gorean man holds in his hands the final justice over his woman, he is the arbitor of her right and her wrong. If he displays an uneven hand, unfair or capricious punishments, he also displays what is, at best, poor judgement. At worst, he becomes a tyrant, and an object of fear. Either way, he has lost face. His woman no longer knows precisely what to expect, and accordingly her behavior and performance will suffer. She will become plagued with hesitation and doubt, never knowing if what was pleasing and acceptible yesterday will merit a severe whipping today.

It is important to understand the nature of punishment; it is not enjoyable to either party. If it was pleasurable, then quite simply, it isn’t really punishment but at best, a game being played. If pleasure is taken from the infliction of pain, then sadism is what is actually being practiced. If that’s what someone likes, that’s fine, but it is not the Gorean Way in any degree. Sadism is considered a sickness amongst those of Gor, a disease like any other to be rooted out and exterminated.

Perhaps it should only be added that the Gorean master, though often strict, is seldom cruel. The girl knows, if she pleases him, her lot will be an easy one. She will almost never encounter sadism or wanton cruelty, for the psychological environment that tends to breed these diseases is largely absent from Gor. This does not mean that she will not expect to be beaten if she disobeys, or fails to please her master.

Priest-Kings of Gor page 51

To settle any question of the terminology, the Merriam Webster Dictionary offers the following definitions;

1. sadism
2. a sexual perversion in which gratification is obtained by the infliction of physical or mental pain on others (as on a love object).
3. delight in cruelty
4. excessive cruelty

1. cruelty
2. disposed to inflict pain or suffering, devoid of humane feelings
3. causing or conducive to grief, injury, or pain
4. unrelieved by leniency

In the final analysis, the Gorean man is dominant over is Gorean woman. He makes the judgements and rules that they shall both abide by, in his hands rests final responsibility for both their well-beings. By the quality of his decisions and his will in carrying them out, he is known. By his maintenance of his relationship with his woman, with discipline and if need be, punishment, his woman will know the extent of his strength and his wisdom.

- LionHeart
Rarius, Intended of Nyre
Copyright © June 2000, LionHeart

That online IRC and specifically gor is mostly fiction is an assertion that has a great abundance of evidence to support the conclusion of the all fiction viewpoint and judgment. The fiction of IRC in general and of Gor in particular, that I have witnessed since I came online runs to be a long list. Men who become women, women who become men, the HNG, switches, vampires, hackers, posers and gamers. Over time many of us have seen the hoaxes hatched, the games played for the thrill of the game of playing with peoples lives and their computers. One only needs to visit a few archives to view hoaxes, the games that were played and matters of whole fiction that has been proven to have occurred on IRC. A list of all channels online of the two nets that I frequent will show all types of names and topics listed, some which are pretty bad or worse. By reading this information and without going into the channel I can make the judgment for my own belief and so argue to others, that fiction will be found in almost all of online IRC. I can also rely on my own experience of having seen visitors from some of these places display acts of fiction and stupidity. I refer to these types as a group: the fictitious. Yes most of IRC online is fiction because there can be no proof of the evidence of the reality.

The word philosophy is derived from two Greek words, philos which means love and of sophia which means wisdom. In philosophy reality is defined as that which exists independently, in fact and in truth, as opposed that which is merely apparent.. The combination gives us a scientific way of reasoning to find the truth which is reality. Where there can be reality on IRC is where a small group people practice a philosophy that’s first tenet is truth or honesty.. Now how do we practice this truth and honesty amidst the hordes of the above fictitious. At times the reality may be what I can call a full reality , where all present on IRC , in channel or in message, at least know the other(s) from offline interaction. Where the reality is found on IRC is where you know the person that you are communicating with. IRC is a tool that is used to communicate that is located at the end of a phone line, just like a telephone is also used as a tool. I have met men and women of gor offline that I knew from online. That is reality. And to communicate with them online is reality. To use either tool is to reach into the reality of interaction. I have used both the internet and the phone to set up meetings and that is certainly reality. Can you know someone that is just someone that you know online and is that reality ? Sometimes. Because of distance or other circumstances, I know I will never meet all of those whom I can call my friends. I do not wish to short them by referring to them as a less than real friendship. Yes reality can be found solely online. It takes time and patience on the part of the parties, some will show to have the virtue of patience and some will show that they do not possess it in their minds and hearts. IRC is a good cheap tool for education of people interested in learning more of the gorean philosophy and of the lifestyle. After the books, IRC is the best source for information regarding gor. We all continue to learn from each other comparing our experiences , our ways and interests. For the new people we always stress to them the need to read the books and proven ways to obtain them. Until a person has read some of the series they will not have an appreciation of the reality of what online and offline gor is about. When I found online gor a couple of years ago I had read all the books and understood what I people were saying about the philosophy of gor. Many people who find online gor now do not have that benefit of knowledge and so we in the community strive to show them the truth which is a reality.

Several months ago I was in a channel where there was no OP present and while eating my real lunch, I chatted with two slaves. Enter a Capped nick male whom I had never seen before online. Capped nick orders a slave to serve him a drink and orders both of the slaves to send him their pictures. I now see one of those of what we call indicators of the intent of a HNG. I call the other girl to serve me, really just to get her out of his reach Now at this point reality is evident to me. I know for a fact that the girl that is serving him has a picture. The other girl says she has no picture. Capped nick demands a picture. Must the girl be displeasing and refuse to send her picture or lie to the Capped nick in front of me? She begs him not to force her. I step in and to tell Capped nick that it is not required of a girl to send at this time. She later sends me the log of the private messages with Capped nick. It was a pretty sick read. That Capped nick has not returned to my knowledge. My own personal belief is that one should exercise patience and to control one’s interest in knowing the appearance of and other real personal information of the one who is behind the screen at the other end of the line. In truth he should not have asked then. So what does this event have to do with Fiction vs. Reality? Simply it is an example of the merger of the reality of a real girls picture into the danger of the fictitious and perhaps predator world that some of online IRC in reality is. We must be careful. Much has been written about judging what is called those indicators, I saw Capped nick and Capped nick failed to control himself, he was fiction facing reality. And one of the often quoted sayings of our philosophy is that the same word for stranger, is enemy.

Anyone can come online and claim that they are anything. Then comes the time for a judgement of the actual reality of the claim or a decision of fiction. At times it takes a period of time to determine whether a statement or a claim is reality or in fact fiction. During this time of interlude, the truth to the statement is judged by the those who hear them. There are times where no decision can be reached and at other times where some do not agree to a fact of what proves a truth. Danger can be a reality from the fictitious. I have seen some sick things on the net and have taken threats made to me online seriously. Where some people say online is all fake and not to believe anything there, I consider the recommended fiction of a threat as a reality. To many of the above fictitious who sit alone behind their screen, in their false belief that they are anonymous to the world, there is no reality for them except for the trouble they may cause to the people who try to interact with reality.

I wish you well

Artemus