And just as in our own world it is possible to condition entire populations to believe what is, from the standpoint of another population, incomprehensible and absurd, so in Tharna both the men and the women came eventually to believe the myths or the distortions advantageous to female dominance.
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Thus it was, gradually and unnoticed, that the gynocracy of Tharna came to be established, and honored with the full weight of tradition and custom, those invisible bonds heavier than chains because they are not understood to exist.
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Yet this situation, socially viable though it might be for generations, is not one truly productive of human happiness.
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Indeed, it is not altogether clear that it is preferable to the male-dominated ethos of most Gorean cities, which, too, surely has its unfortunate side.
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In a city such as Tharna the men, taught to regard themselves as beasts, as inferior beings, seldom develop the full respect for themselves essential to true manhood.
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But even more strangely, the women of Tharna do not seem content under the gynocracy.
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Although they despise men and congratulate themselves on their more lofty status it seems to me that they, too, fail to respect themselves.
And just as in our own world it is possible to condition entire populations to believe what is, from the standpoint of another population, incomprehensible and absurd, so in Tharna both the men and the women came eventually to believe the myths or the distortions advantageous to female dominance.
Thus it was, gradually and unnoticed, that the gynocracy of Tharna came to be established, and honored with the full weight of tradition and custom, those invisible bonds heavier than chains because they are not understood to exist.
Yet this situation, socially viable though it might be for generations, is not one truly productive of human happiness.
Indeed, it is not altogether clear that it is preferable to the male-dominated ethos of most Gorean cities, which, too, surely has its unfortunate side.
In a city such as Tharna the men, taught to regard themselves as beasts, as inferior beings, seldom develop the full respect for themselves essential to true manhood.
But even more strangely, the women of Tharna do not seem content under the gynocracy.
Although they despise men and congratulate themselves on their more lofty status it seems to me that they, too, fail to respect themselves.
- (Outlaw of Gor, Chapter )