Free Women : Other

Conventions
Here are two important conventions dealing with enslavement and free women. They do not have the effect of law but honor often dictates these conventions will be followed. These conventions are part of the Gorean tradition and thus are accorded much respect.
The institution of capture is practiced by nearly every, if not every, city on Gor. If you capture women from another city, your own city will recognize the legality of that capture and your rightful possession of the new slave. Remember that those women must belong to another city. You cannot legally raid your own city to obtain women to be your slaves. The city you are raiding will defend its woman but they also understand that captures are a part of life.
If a man saves the life of a woman, convention states that he has the option to enslave her. In essence, the man has won the right to the woman's life by saving it. Though this is not a law, few people would refuse a man this right. Even a woman's own family would be likely to honor this convention. It would be considered to be the honorable course of action.
Restrictions
Free woman have a number of freedoms and restrictions within different cities, not all that reach the level of an actual law. They are much more based on tradition and Goreans are very supportive of tradition. The general freedom of a free woman is closely tied to each particular city. Ko-ro-ba may be the Gorean city that accords the most personal freedom to free women and Tharna, after its revolution, may be the most repressive. For example, in Tharna, free women who visit must temporarily wear a collar, slave tunic and leash. The other cities of Gor fall somewhere in between this spectrum.
In some cities, free women are not permitted to leave their homes without the permission of a male relative or their Free Companion. In addition, some cities permit their women only to speak to blood relatives.
Women commonly travel outside the cities only accompanied by a sufficient group of armed guards. They do not commonly travel with only a single guard. It can be very dangerous for women outside the cities. Even within the cities, some women will travel with guards though they are more apt to only travel with a single guard. This would apply more for women of High Caste or high station who can afford such protection. The average Peasant women would not walk around Ar protected by an armed rarius.
There are no known laws limiting the type of weapons that women may carry but practicality commonly limits their choices to daggers and/or poisoned needles. Poison is considered to be a woman's weapon, not a weapon of Warriors or Assassins. Women will carry their weapons concealed, hoping to rely on surprise if they ever need to actually defend themselves. Without the element of surprise, most men could easily disarm a woman.
Some free women engage in the sport of hunting and are skilled in the use of the crossbow or small bow. They may even dress in hunting leathers, ride a tharlarion and hunt on their own, though that is dangerous.
When sitting, free women kneel in what would be considered almost a tower slave position. Their hands though lie on their thighs, palms down. Free women maintain good posture while kneeling. Free women do not sit cross-legged as that is only for men. It is considered an insult to men for women to sit cross-legged.
Free women may enter a house first, rather than behind a man like a slave.
Free women commonly drink delicately and eat in small bites. A free woman might eat larger bites, though that is most often done to arouse a man she desires.
Free women are rarely permitted to observe slave dances that are erotic or especially sensuous. This is not because they might be offended but it is for their own protection. It is thought that such sights might inflame the slave desires within a free women.
Most free women dislike the theater, especially its more vulgar and ribald minor forms. If anything, they will attend performances incognito so others can not identify them. It is only the more serious and major forms of theater that free women feel comfortable attending.
The Twelfth Passage Hand, just before the solemn Waiting Hand, is often a time of great festivities, a Carnival. Carnival is also a time for people to don masks and bizarre costumes, allowing an opportunity for jokes and pranks. They also permit incognito assignations between free people. Some free women even go as far as to masquerade as slaves and run naked through the cities. Another common game during the Carnival is called Favors. In the basic version, free women are given ten scarves, each set unique to each woman. The free women then pass out the scarves to men and receive a kiss in return. The first woman who passes out all of her scarves and returns to the starting point wins. This gives free women a valid way to flirt during this specific time.
Frigidity
In general free women are seen as frigid and sexually repressed. Many know little about sex and see it more as a duty and a chore rather than as a matter of mutual pleasure. This frigidity is considered acceptable for free woman though slaves are not permitted that quality. Men are commonly disappointed by this frigidity, especially if they have experienced the wanton sexuality of a slave. It generally takes from a third to a quarter of an Ahn, 18 to 24 minutes, to arouse a free woman to orgasm. Some free women are proud of their frigidity. They consider it important to show how different they are from slaves. Other free women seek to change that aspect of themselves and learn how to be more sexually responsive. Physicians commonly tell free women who seek advice on changing their frigidity to learn slave dancing. Most consider it appropriate though that free women remain ignorant of the sexuality of the slave.
"An unowned girl, a free woman, thus, can never experience her full sexuality�Passion, it is thought, deprives the free woman to some extent of her freedom and important self-control; it is frowned upon because it makes her behave, to some extent, like a degraded female slave; free women, thus, to protect their honor and dignity, their freedom and personhood, their individuality, must fight passion;� the free woman must remain cool and in control of herself, even in the arms of her companion, to avoid being truly 'had,'�" (Tribesman of Gor, p.17)
Slaves
Free women may own slaves, both male and female. There are no legal restrictions on their ownership rights concerning slaves. Silk slaves are special male slaves trained to please women. You can find more information on them in the Education Scroll #6, Kajirus Basics.
In the presence of free women, slave are commonly required to be more modest. This applies mostly in public places though it may apply elsewhere as well depending on the circumstances. On city streets though, kajirae are rarely punished for a lack of modesty. Free women must tolerate almost any type of slave behavior that occurs there. A free man can walk his kajira naked through the streets if he so desires and the free women would just avert their eyes. But, men are often solicitous of free women so they would rarely walk their slaves naked except maybe as a form of discipline. Men generally do not openly flaunt the sexuality of their slaves in front of free women. They often try to respect the sensitive feelings of the free women.
In general, free women despise kajirae, treating them with cruelty and viciousness. If a slave is especially attractive, a free woman will treat her even worse. This is motivated in part by envy and jealousy. Free women know that men often prefer the company of slave girls. This resentment is thus taken out on the slaves and not the men. Free women also envy the slave's freedom to be sexual beings, especially of those slaves that seem the happiest. Some free women also despise slaves in a denial of their own feelings and desires to be a slave. The consequence is that most kajirae fear free women. They understand the power free women have over them and they do not want to irritate free women any further. They dread the possibility of being owned by a free woman. And as most men do not interfere when a free woman punishes a slave, a slave knows she has little recourse except to be as pleasing as possible to free women.
Rhetoric
The Gorean novels are filled with much rhetoric concerning beliefs about free women. Many of these sayings allege that all women are natural slaves. Most of these sayings are not mentioned in the presence of free women though. They are what men say when they get together to discuss women.
"Every woman in her heart wants to wear the chains of a man." (Priest-Kings of Gor, p.204)
"The institution of freedom for women, I decided, as many Goreans believed, was a mistake." (Nomads of Gor, p.286)
"�the garments of a free woman are designed to conceal a woman's slavery,�" (Rogue of Gor, p.276)
"On Gor it is said that free women are slaves who have not yet been collared." (Magicians of Gor, p.22)
"A Gorean saying came to mind, that the free woman is a riddle, the answer to which is the collar." (Magicians of Gor, p.50)
Some of these sayings also allege that true love can only exist between a man and a kajira, not a free woman. The general idea is that, for women, the price of being free is that they must sacrifice love. Again, these are sayings generally not spoken of in the presence of free women.
"A woman , I had learned, must choose between freedom and love." (Slave Girl of Gor, p.412)
"A man can truly love only that woman who is truly his, who belongs to him. Otherwise he is only a party to a contract." (Slave Girl of Gor, p.444)
"�no free woman, because she is free, can truly compete for the attention and affection of a man as can a slave girl." (Fighting Slave of Gor, p.217)
"Bondage is a soil in which it is natural for love to blossom." (Blood Brothers of Gor, p.113)
Yet, despite all this rhetoric, free women remain in the overwhelming majority on Gor. If all women are natural slaves, then why haven't the majority of women been enslaved. If true love is only find with a slave, does that mean the vast majority of male Goreans live without love? It seems obvious, based on the evidence within the books, that all of this rhetoric is mostly just talk. It is manly banter that has little basis in the realities of Gorean society. Though generalizations can be made about free women, there are surely many exceptions as well. Some free women are capable of intense passion and love. Many men must find contentment with their Free Companions as Gorean men in general are said to be happy people. Do not confuse the rhetoric with the reality. Look deeper than the surface to find the true answers of Gor.
Free Women Online
There are a limited number of women in online Gor who act as free women. Most choose to be slaves. Of those who choose to be free women, many become panther girls, talunas or female Warriors. You will often hear complaints from free women that it is too difficult to be a free woman online unless you are a panther girl, taluna or female Warrior. They do not see any viability in other roles, seeing too many restrictions on those others.
Let us first consider the role of free women in Gorean role-play. Many feel that role-play opportunities for women are too dull and limited. That is why many create a female warrior though I feel this indicates that Gorean role-play is primarily combat oriented. That is not the case. Gor is a varied and vibrant world. Your Gorean role-play is limited only by your imagination. You can create any number of exciting story-lines, many of which do not involve any combat. It is easy to add some intrigue and mystery into a storyline. Free women have freedom in many areas on Gor and could be involved in a myriad of activities.
Let me give you some examples of the possibilities that exist for free women in Gorean role-play. First, you should try to elevate your role-play out of the "tavern" mode. Too many people center their role-play in cities in a tavern. They ignore the possibilities that exist outside that tiny location. Free women have better opportunities for role-play in such areas as a marketplace, public gardens or the library. Why should they sit in a tavern and watch the kajirae serve men? It gets boring quickly. Free women should get out into the city streets and seek the possibilities for adventure there.
Here are a few possible storylines for free women. A free women Physician may be researching a cure for Dar-Kosis, a disease the Initiates do not want cured. Trying to outwit the Initiates, dealing with other Physicians and working with the inflicted are a few areas to consider. A free woman Scribe may stumble upon an ancient secret in an old scroll. She must decide how best to handle it. Maybe others want the scroll and she must elude those people while best discerning what to do with the secret. A free woman Merchant gets to deal with all types of people. Maybe one of her customers orders a special item and then he mysteriously vanishes, leaving behind a cryptic note. Maybe she can you solve the mystery of the customer's fate. Mystery and intrigue storylines work well for free women.
Real time free women have numerous opportunities as well though their online opportunities do appear limited in some respects. Many online areas are geared toward Master/Slave interaction, i.e. paga taverns. There are very few places that cater specifically to real time free women. There is an additional problem of dealing with people who do not properly understand the role of free women on Gor. These people may often disrespect such free women. Such free women should find other women to interact with and find ways to get involved in the online community. It may not be easy, but there are places there for you.