Robes of Concealment:
The mode of dress favored by free women in some of the larger city-states (I.E. Ar,
Ko-ro-ba, Turia, etc). It consists of one or more hooded robes of heavy brocade or other opaque fabric, plus up to
five face veils.
The Five Veils of Concealment
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.
The Veil of the Citizeness:
The second of the veils worn by free women. Worn under the pride veil and over the last
veil.
The Pride Veil:
The third veil worn by free women. Worn under the house veil and over the veil of the citizeness.
The House Veil:
The next-to-last veil worn by free women, esp. when in the company of men not of her own family.
Worn over the pride veil, and under the street veil upon leaving the house.
The Street Veil:
The outermost veil worn by free women. Worn over the house veil when leaving the house.
Remember your status! A freewoman is proud, but she does not challenge or insult. To do so is to invite a
face-stripping. Most channels are typically full of Warriors, and one of the things that Warriors do is collar and
enslave freewomen. 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 t reated with the respect due to
one your station.
A Gorean freewoman does not draw a weapon against another freeperson 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 rites. 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.
A Gorean freewoman may own and use slaves, both male and female, as she sees fit. Remember however that
those freewomen not within the precincts of their own city/state might fall prey to chain luck while visiting another
city if they are not careful. Extreme caution is advised.
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 irratable 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 man`s world.
From Priest Kings of Gor, pg67
On Gor a woman normally travels only with a suitable retinue of armed guards. Women,on
this barbaric world, are often regarded, unfortunately, as little more than love prizes, the
fruits of conquest and seizure. Too, often, they are seen less as persons, human beings with
rights, individuals worthy of concern and regard than as potential pleasure slaves, silken,
bangled prisoners, possible adornments to the pleasure gardens of their captors.
Outlaw of Gor, page 50
The Gorean girl is, even if free, accustomed to slavery; she will perhaps own one or more
slaves herself; she knows that she is weaker than men and what this can mean; she knows
that cities fall and caravans are plundered; she knows she might even, by a sufficiently bold
warrior, be captured in her own quarters and, bound and hooded, be carried by tarn back
over the wall of her own city. Moreover, even if she is never enslaved, she is familiar with the
duties of slaves and what is expected of them; if she should be enslaved she will know , on
the whole, what is expected of her what is permitted her and not; moreover the Gorean girl
is literally educated, fortunately or not, to the notion that it is of great importance to know
how to please men; accordingly, even girls who will be free companions, and never slaves,
learn the preparation and serving of exotic dishes, the art of walking, and standing, and
being beautiful, the care of a man's equipment, the love dances of their city, and so on.
Nomads of Gor, page 63
Gorean Freewomen are those who dwell within the insulae of family, home, and shops, or
behind walls and guards in the secret pleasure gardens and relaxation pools of the city,
performing their labors, managing their households, taking their pleasures and seeing to the
birth, maintenance and correct training of the children of Gor. It is a difficult and perilous
undertaking for a Gorean Freewoman to maintain her status... in fact, a Gorean Freewoman
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.
Many Gorean Freewomen 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.
The key trait a Gorean warrior expects to find in the Freewomen of His city is "virtue". To the
Gorean mind, any woman who possesses the raw lust and submissive desire openly displayed
by ko lared slavegirls deserves to be one, and if a Freewoman'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 Freewoman is
held is so great that normally several such offenses must be committed before she is
stripped and ko lared. In such a case, a Freewoman 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
Freewoman 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 ko lar". In such
instances it is generally accepted practice to bestow upon the Freewoman the very thing
which she so seems to want, a brand and ko lar of her very own.
Facestripping
Perhaps the worst offense which can be performed against a Freewoman is that of public
facestripping, i.e. when the veils of a Freewoman are removed from her by force. This is the
equivalent of stripping her naked, though even the loss of her Robes of Concealment is not
so great an insult as the loss of her veils. It is regarded as the right, duty and privilege of
Gorean Freewomen of the high cities to remain veiled... even when captured by the Warriors
of an enemy city, the Freewoman will commonly be allowed to retain her veils at least until
her final fate has been decided.
Freewomen and male "Silk-Slaves"
Many Gorean Freewomen possess kajiri, or male slaves. These serve many purposes... often
they are servants and retainers, though they also may be used as pack bearers or manual
laborers. Often a Freewoman will be borne through the streets of her city in a curtained
palanquin carried upon the backs of such male slaves. In addition, the wealthier and more
free-thinking of Gorean Freewoman will also have within her household one or more "silk
slaves," male slaves chosen for their handsomeness and sexual vigor, who have been trained
to serve a mistress sexually.
The Rite of Submission
If at any time, or for any reason, a Freewoman decides that it is in her best interests either
to become a slave or to openly submit herself to a male for his protection and use, she
performs a formal gesture of submission, invoking the ancient Gorean "Rite of Submission".
Many Freewomen would rather die than perform such a subservient act. It is important that
a Freewoman understand that when this rite is invoked, there is no going back. Typically
there are only two possible outcomes when a Freewoman submits so: either she is enslaved
and becomes the personal chattel of the male, His to do with as He sees fit, or she is found
lacking in desirability by the male in question and is driven from Him in disgrace. In the case
of a Warrior, the consequences are even more dire, since a Warrior is not permitted by his
codes to abandon the female while she is still alive. Therefore, most Warriors have no
qualms whatsoever against putting an undesired, submitting female to death on the spot.
Indeed, to a Warrior's mind, it is better by far to take the supplicant's life than to abandon
her to be randomly enslaved by the first person who comes along. Believe it or not, in such a
situation a Warrior is acting to preserve the Honor of the former Freewoman and her caste
and family.
The way the rite is invoked is this: the Freewoman facestrips herself, publicly announces that
she willingly submits to the individual she has chosen, and then assumes "The Position of
Female Submission," wherein the Freewoman 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 Freewoman does not invoke The Rite of Submission hastily or
without much consideration, as the very act can cost her her life.
Freewomen and Combat
There are no restrictions upon the weaponry owned and used by Freewomen, apart from the
general prohibition of technological items sanctioned by the Priest Kings. Nevertheless, the
Freewomen of the larger and more civilized cities of Gor seldom carry weaponry which
cannot easily be concealed. The two primary weapons in use by such women are the dagger
and the poisoned needle, both of which can be secreted among the many folds of her robes
and drawn forth for use at a moment's notice. In fact, most Gorean Freewomen spend many
hours practicing such movements, knowing that a moment's hesitation may one day make
the difference for them between a life of ease and honor or a life of imbonditude. Bladed
hair combs and the long, razor sharp pins which hold her many veils in place are often used
by the Freewoman in such an instance. In general, the typical Gorean Freewoman doesn't
carry a weapon large enough to be perceived beneath her robes... she knows that there is
little chance she will prevail in open combat against a trained Warrior. Her weapons are of
stealth and surprise, combined with the desperate desire to remain free at all costs.
Remember your status! A Freewoman is proud, but she does not challenge or insult. To do
so is to invite a face-stripping. Nearly all chat rooms are typically full of Warriors, and one of
the things that Warriors do is collar and enslave Freewomen. To draw attention to yourself
by being 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.
| Entrance to Gor |
