"Virginity"
Red Silk Slaves and White Silk Slaves
"Among slaves, not free women, these things are sometimes spoken of along the lines as to whether or not a girl as been 'opened' for the uses of men. Other common terms, used generally of slaves, are 'white silk' and 'red silk', for girls who have not yet been opened, or have been opened, for the uses of men, respectively." - DANCER OF GOR, Pg. 128
To put the entire subject quite simply, the terms "Red Silk" and "White Silk" have nothing at all to do with the degree of a girls training, her classification regarding training, or her skill as a slave overall. Red Silk and White Silk are merely slang slaver terms used to denote whether a girl is a virgin or not. Red Silk, obviously symbolic of the blood shown when virginity is taken, are slaves that have been used sexually by men. White Silk, obviously symbolic of naivety, simply means virgin and sexually inexperienced. "Similarly, the expression 'red-silk,' in Gorean, tends to be used as a category in slaving, and also, outside of the slaving context, as an expression in vulgar discourse, indicating that the woman is no longer a virgin, or, as the Goreans say, at least vulgarly of slaves, that her body has been opened by men. Its contrasting term is 'white-silk,' usually used of slaves who are still virgins, or, equivalently, slaves whose bodies have not yet been opened by men. Needless to say, slaves seldom spend a great deal of time in the 'white-silk' category. It is common not to dally in initiating a slave into the realities of her condition." - BLOOD BROTHERS OF GOR, Pg. 472
"'You are a pretty slave, Evelyn,' I said.
'Thank you Master,' she said.
'Are you White Silk?' I asked.
'I am virgin,' she said.
'Then you are White Silk,' I said." - EXPLORERS OF GOR, Pg. 172
Formal training has nothing at all to do with this distinction, it is strictly a measure of the girl's sexual exposure to men. A girl may be a "White Silk Pleasure Slave," having been trained to certification in the arts of that classification, but still remaining a virgin. Likewise, a Red Silk girl may have no actual training at all, or even the ability to speak the Gorean language, but is termed "Red Silk" for having been slave raped by a men. Generally though, Goreans do expect a certain level of ability in Red Silk girls. This maturity in the collar is not so much a reflection of actual structured training, but the simple understanding that when a girl loses her virginity, she changes and somewhat matures, becoming more responsive to and needing of men. So in calling a girl a White Silk the Gorean is not just referring to the condition of the girl's virginity, but he is also making reference to her not having be "awakened" as a woman, and her subsequent naivete. "'To be sure,' I said, 'white' in the context of 'white-silk girl' tends less to suggest purity and innocence to the Gorean than ignorance and naivety, and a lack of experience. One expects a red-silk girl, for example, not only to be able to find her way about the furs, but, subject to the whip, owned and dominated, perhaps chained, to prove herself a sensuous treasure within them." - SAVAGES OF GOR, Pg. 205
To claim a girl who is not a virgin as a "White Silk" at time of sale, is a form of fraud on Gor, and is a criminal violation of the law. The same holds true of claiming a girl who has not been certified, to be a Pleasure Slave or bred to create a Passion Slave. A slave can be white silk and also a certified Pleasure Slave. She of course would not yet be trained to men in the sense of having truly experienced her own sexuality, since she is still a virgin, but the surrounding training which seeks to teach a girl how to be pleasing before men, in all ways, can be done. Doreen, the main character of "Dancer of Gor," is a very clear example of a "White Silk Pleasure Slave." At the time of her sale, she has been trained to certification as just that, "'Category,' I heard, '- Pleasure Slave.'" - DANCER OF GOR, Pg. 129
Later, after she has been sold, just prior to her losing her virginity, "I knelt as I had been taught, and as the sort of slave I was, the sort of slave I had first learned I was in Market of Semris, a pleasure slave." - DANCER OF GOR, Pg. 186 And then eighteen pages later when she actually loses her virginity, "I had been opened, I thought, I was now 'red silk!'" - DANCER OF GOR, Pg. 204
And note how she says she is now a "Red Silk," now that she has been "opened" by a man. No measure of formal training, no classification due to skill shown, simply a loss of virginty. The white ribbon which had been tied to her collar to indicate her virginity to patrons is then soon removed, with a red one replacing it. Such a custom is not necessarily something done in all taverns, but in this circumstance the reasoning seems obvious. "Then I felt him, and I could not have stopped him, had I wished to do so, as I was chained, remove the white-silk ribbon from my collar. In a moment he had fastened something else there, in its place, doubtless another ribbon, doubtless the red-silk ribbon which had been given to him earlier by Mirus. He jerked it down on the collar, snugly." - DANCER OF GOR, Pg. 209
Gorean slave girls are commonly not dressed in white or red silks or any such clothes as a reflection of their status as a "White Silk" or "Red Silk Girl." Slaves are dressed as their master pleases, with White Silk Girls usually remaining such only if held by a Slaver House in preparation for sale. Slaver Houses sometimes will dress a girl based on if she is "White Silk" or "Red Silk," as a method of easy distinction between the two. This is not done as a matter of custom or something common and universal to Gor, but strictly an individual choice and not even a common business practice at that. "Some of the girls, judging by the stripes on the hoods and cloaks were White Silk, and others Red Silk. The White Silk Girls, of course, having been released from the house, would have been placed in locked, iron belts." - ASSASSIN OF GOR, Pg. 147
Of note in the above quote is that the girls with the "white stripes," the "White Silk Girls," are fitted with iron belts, an object commonly used to secure a girls virginity. Norman also capitalizes the words "White Silk Girl" throughout the book, obviously to draw distinction between them, who are virgins, and those simply dressed in white. "'They know nothing of men,' he said.
'You mean they are White Silk?' I asked." - ASSASSIN OF GOR, Pg. 116
White clothing in a Slaver House need not always denote a "White Silk" girl though. Some use the classification to mark new girls in general, but even then, the term "White Silk" remains unchanged, and is not applied unless the girl is a virgin. In the same Slaver House as the above quote, we see the following, "The meal was served by slave girls in white tunics, each wearing a white-enameled collar. These would be girls in training, some of them perhaps White Silk Girls, being accustomed to the routines and techniques of serving table." - ASSASSIN OF GOR, Pg. 88
Girls very new to the collar in a Slaver House might be dressed in white to denote their lack of training, but this does not mean they are "White Silk," nor are they classified as such. They are simply dressed in a color that denotes progression in training, and this dress is not even in silk. It should also be considered that this is but one example of practice in one house. Again, this is not necessarily a common practice, another Slaver House might choose to dress such slaves in another color for whatever preference they have. Now as stated above, "White Silk" girls usually only remain virgin if they are being held and trained by a Slaver House for future sale. Goreans in general, prefer "Red Silk" girls over virgins, because their sexuality has been better developed and their overall use, in a common sense, is thus more enjoyable. "Virgins presented special problems, particularly of a psycological nature. Also, their sexual responses usually requied lengthening, deepening and honing. On the whole, I, like most Goreans, preferred open women. And, of course, most women are opened. Virgins, for example, are almost never available in the slave markets." - VAGABONDS OF GOR, Pg. 196
At time of sale, a "White Silk" girl will usually go for a price higher then a "Red Silk" girl of equal training and appearance. This is due to the nature of the virgin, being that a girl is such only once in her life, and that some men prefer to "awaken" the sexuality of the girls they personally own. For general sexual use, the "Red Silk" is preferred, but the "White Silk" holds a special quality that is of both interest and worth to the perspective buyer. A final note should be made regarding the concept of "fully trained." A girl certified as a Pleasure Slave has reached the level of training necessary to be classified as such. This does not mean she is "fully trained," but only that she is eligible for the title and distinction. The concept of "fully trained" exists only as an ideal, and is unattanable by a slave girl, for slaves are forever learning more of their slavery and the depths of it within themselves.