Grainger
Explorer
I stopped hiding my love of RPGs once I hit my 40's and now speak of it openly with my coworkers (I'm a police officer). There have been those who would look at me in an odd sort of way but for the most part, they have accepted it. Mainly because I don't really don't place too much weight on what others think anymore (when I was 25 years old it was a different story). In fact, since I have been open about it, (or as my wife refers to it, "coming out of the basement"), I found there were more gamers in my profession than I was led to believe in the first place.
Yes, these things can be a bit of a vicious circle of silence. You could be working alongside another gamer for years and neither of your dares to talk about it.