The folks at Taiwan BDSM are reporting on the current British scandal involving the Kaotians . . . the so-called Gorean sex-cult which turned out to be consensual role play.

Gor . . . I remember reading my first Gor novel by John Norman (actually a professor names John Lange) back in my high school days in 1979 . . . for some reason, the whole thing was rather appealing . . . albeit, the movies are horrible. I used to have a full collection of first editions of the novels but unfortunately left them in the wrong box in the wrong garage when I came to Taiwan . . . evidently, they were damaged by flooding. Back when I was running my "experimental hypnosis for women" groups, I was requested to create a couple MP3s for the ladies in the group related to Gorean themes . . . they especially liked the "Gorean Kajira’s Dance" piece . . . and folks in the exchange are a bit familiar with some of my visualization scripts that for consensual exploration themes of collars and markings (albeit, not the kef) . . . wonderful imagery and very powerful for building intimacy and trust within a relationship, based upon surrender rather than merely submission (yes, there is a difference, albeit many don’t get that difference) . . . those familiar with the concept of subspace can understand part of the phenomenon and positive brain-chemical response pleasure trance effects within the system . . . warning, the novels are very very male dominant stuff. For women, I would strongly suggest skipping the first few and going to the ones that are written from the perspective of female protagonists (jump straight to Slave Girl of Gor, Kajira of Gor, and the like). Yes, the "deep thrust" is a real phenomenon. The online communities related to Gorean dances are wonderful . . . do check the "positions" stuff, especially the ones that have illustrations of both serving and dance positions. I have taught Gorean material as part of my graduate seminar in Literature of the Fantastic (Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror) as part of my unit on alternative sexualities in contemporary fantasy – particularly when juxtaposed with Schroeder’s social psychological studies of S/m, B/d, and D/s (which are NOT all the same thing but often get lumped in together). The Kaotians are not the only group of folks who have taken the Gorean fantasy to the real world . . . there is a "tribe" in New Zealand as well, albeit most of the RL groups do indeed go completely consensual . . . unlike the novels, there are no kidnappings of lithe and voluptuous Earth girls. They also tend to keep it Safe, Sane, and Consensual . . . a good idea in any respect.

From the BBC article . . . the whole scandal is consensual stuff . . .

A sex slavery cult based on a series of 1960s science fiction novels has been uncovered by police in Darlington.  Durham Police discovered the bizarre sect after raiding a home in the area, after receiving complaints that a woman was being held against her will. But a spokesman said the Canadian was a willing participant and the other people involved were consenting adults. The group, called Kaotians, follow the Chronicles of Gor novels which depict a society where women are dominated. The 29-year-old woman is said to have voluntarily attended the sect after finding out about it over the internet. She later contacted a friend in United States, who then contacted the police, saying she wanted to leave but couldn’t as she had burnt her passport and return ticket. But a police spokesman said upon arriving at the premises they did not find any evidence of "criminal offences". ‘Own choice’ Police also investigated claims by a father in Essex his 18-year-old son had joined the sect. However police also found the teenager was at the property voluntarily and they had no grounds to get involved. Lee Thompson, 31, says he is the "master" who trains the slaves at the Darlington address. He said the women who act as slaves "do so by their own choice". "We’re just a group of people that live a different lifestyle, I mean there’s nothing wrong with that," he told BBC News. "We don’t hurt anyone, we don’t damage anyone, everyone’s consensual." Members of the group based their lives on "a dominant submissive point of view", he said. "It’s one thing that everyone’s missed out on so far is, even in our organisation, if that’s what you want to call it, women can be free and they can be dominant, we don’t stop that," he added. "But the majority of women in our organisation are obviously slaves because women have a submissive streak in them." Mr Thompson says up to 350 followers regularly meet in pubs and clubs around the North East, in an area from Berwick to York. Kaotians are a splinter group of the Goreans, which base their beliefs on novels written by American university professor John Norman. The books are set on the quasi-medieval planet of Gor, which has a caste system and uses women as slaves. There are an estimated 25,000 Goreans worldwide.

25,000 . . . does anyone know of any folks in Taiwan, other than a very small handful of my graduate students, who have heard of Gor let alone read the novels?  I do know of a Japanese translations and Gorean sites but don’t know of anything in Chinese or from Taiwan.

Norman’s "Imaginative Sex" book is a non-fiction piece filled with consensual adult roleplays that also explore many of the themes in the novels. The novels themselves, in their time, were part of a reaction to radical feminism and should not be construed as a particularly negative intention towards women in general. Today’s "surrendered wife" movement (a movement made up of women) actually carries many of the same value sets as the kajirae in the Gor novels, albeit members of that group might blanche at that particular thought even as they promulgate the same values – albeit, without the veil dances (I do love a good veil dance though).

All the best,
Brian

Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [phillips@nccu.edu.tw]Certified Hypnotherapist
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.briandavidphillips.com