Where is Sissy of Gor?

Growing up, John Norman’s Gor novels were my first real introduction to the world of BDSM and the concept of sexual submission.

I started reading them because (a) I was a fantasy geek, and (b) a friend kept telling me how taboo/controversial they are. They were fun, pulpy, fantasy adventures, with a nice mix of science fiction and fantasy, and Tarl Cabot was an interesting protagonist. I liked the idea of a Counter-Earth, along with the alien races of the Kurii and the Priest-Kings, and the stories were genuinely thrilling.

Having said all that, I really only kept reading beyond the first few books because, even back then, I knew I was a sissy, and I intimately identified with the kajira – the female slaves of Gor. Contrary to what the critics would say, these were women with the potential to be beautiful and proud in their submission. Yes, there was often an element of breaking and training involved, but that was erotic in its own right. What mattered to me was that, once they became acclimated to their new home, these Earth women embraced their role as kajira, coming to love their submissive obedience. They were not shamed, humiliated, or degraded, but prized for their role.

Books 7 (Captive of Gor), 11 (Slave Girl of Gor), and 19 (Kajira of Gor) were books that I read over and over again, until the white-cover, yellow-spine paperbacks were falling apart. These were novels from the kajira’s point of view, narrated by Earth women abducted and enslaved to serve their Masters on the planet of Gor. I read each and every one of them, imagining myself in their place, and fantasizing about being transformed into such a perfect slave girl.

While I haven’t read them (yet), apparently books 22 (Dancer of Gor), 26 (Witness of Gor), 27 (Prize of Gor), and 31 (Conspirators of Gor) fall into the kajira-narration niche as well.

Sadly, as much as I have longed for it to happen, it doesn’t appear that John Norman will ever give into my dreams and write Sissy of Gor. I get it, I do. His is a philosophy where the natural order is one of male domination and female submission, where gender roles are very much those of the stereotypical 1950’s standard. He’s simply not interested in exploring the idea of submissive men or feminine sissies.

Fortunately, I stumbled on a recommendation lately that has led me down a rabbit hole of Gorean fan fiction that does indeed pay homage to sissy desires.

While I haven’t read it yet, Daughter of Gor by Olga Turlovna comes highly recommended as a transgender themed Gor novel that effectively captures the feel of John Norman’s writing. Sadly, Olga has said that much of the Gorean fan base thinks she should be burned as a witch for writing it, but I love her for writing it. She notes that Agent of Gor by Albedo was her inspiration, and apparently Mistress of Gor by Cordellian is a sequel of sorts (with kind permission) to Olga’s story, and Chrysalis of Gor by Tex Monday  is another transgender entry in the fan fiction universe.

Finally, I can’t leave off the topic of Gor without mentioning the idea of female domination. While I do recall a few minor mentions of male slaves in the novels, they were still strongly masculine, and the femdom angle wasn’t at all erotic. Apparently, however, there’s evolved a whole Gorean femdom subculture in the world of Second Life, which is captured beautifully over at the Gorean Evolved Panther Girls blog. It was there that I first found reference to Daughter of Gor, for which I will be forever grateful, and Miss Marlies Dasmijn writes some fiction there as well (including a castration story that, I must admit, intrigues me).