Are you in the RPG closet?

[Jools]

I think like most people I'm pretty strategic over what I reveal and when. Perhaps unsurprisingly the kinds of people who choose to move here (to Japan) are often of the geeky sort but you also get a lot of extroverted, traveling types who look down upon geeky things so I usually prefer to just allude to my hobbies. I usually tell people I enjoy German Boardgames. This is true, doesn't single me out as being too weird and is more than enough to identify me as a geek to other potential geeks.

I never go out of my way to hide my geekyness though, I never deny it if asked and certainly wouldn't say bad things about gamers/geeks. I would probably be pretty closeted on the whole if wasn't for the fact that my fellow geeky friends frequently out me. I'm happy with this though as outing yourself with backup (and other gamers tend to be pretty cool people in my experience) is an easy and safe way to do it.

As an aside, I feel sorry for all the Americans here who actually have to contend with people associating their hobby with devil worship. Truly madness.

 

[Diamond Cross]

HEck, I have a hard enough time telling people I like Star Trek, let alone playing RPGs. They have a hard time understanding that I like Star Trek and science fiction, and generlly form their wrongful opinions based on that, and many times give me the evil eye.

So I generally hide things like that, except from my closest friends.

It's like Nagilum says, people are quick to judge, quick to anger, and slow to understand.

 

[billd91]

I'm pretty open about gaming. There's usually some kind of D&D or other RPG book on my desk at work for reading during lunch. And I wear gamer-oriented t-shirts to work (Dork Tower, Nodwick, etc).

But then I live in the Madison, WI area, which is pretty liberal and well-stocked with gamers. I work for a software company that has a reputation for it's nerdity. And, to top it off, one of the new buildings on our campus has a D&D-themed decor. It's still in its infancy since the building's decor is still being built and installed, but it's one of the themes the company heads decided they wanted (others themes include Asian art, Wild West, Manhattan, and tech gadgets). The building has a freaking mini drawbridge leading up to its main door. Yep, no gamers need to be in the closet here...

 

[Dioltach]

I think that perhaps I'm less open about it than I used to be. The main reason is that where I'm from not many people know what D&D/RPGs are, and I just don't have the patience (or the drive) to explain the concept anymore.

The people I'm close to know about it, even if they don't understand what it entails. It's not nearly as prominent part of my life as some of my other interests such as cooking.

 

[Ahnehnois]

I don't really talk about it a lot. Then again, I don't spend that much time talking about my other hobbies either (tennis for example). Unfortunate, really.

I do go out of my way to avoid the topic in job/school interviews and that sort of thing when I'm asked about hobbies because I am concerned about being on the wrong end of some very nasty prejudice. Unfortunately, many people who are otherwise fair-minded hold negative opinions of D&D, and it is very difficult to change someone's mind about such things.

 

[Afrodyte]

Someday gamers will have the same rights as everyone else.

But do they have to flaunt it so much?

 

[Orius]

Deep in the cloest, I learned long before I got into D&D that anythign nerdy led to ridicule. I've never faced the devil-worshipping stuff, but I live in a relatively conservative working-class commuinity that revolves around stuff like local sports. I think it really depends on where you live and work when it comes to coming out of the "RPG closet".

 

[OnlineDM]

A little thread necromancy here for an update from the original poster. I've moved farther out of the gaming closet, finding two co-workers who also play D&D. One of them will even be at GenCon at the same time as me!

More here.

 

[kitsune9]

I'm a complete closet gamer. I don't tell my coworkers what I do over the weekend other than "I hang out with nerd friends". If they think that means we get together to watch the game and drink beer or play video games, whatever. It beats when I used to say, "Yeah, I got together with some buddies and we played Dungeons and Dragons." and then I get that look. After a while, I just consider it no one's business.

I even blew off attempts to "out me". One lady said, "You look like the guy who plays Dungeons and Dragons." I told her, "Sorry, I don't play those online computer games."

 

[kitsune9]

I do go out of my way to avoid the topic in job/school interviews and that sort of thing when I'm asked about hobbies because I am concerned about being on the wrong end of some very nasty prejudice. Unfortunately, many people who are otherwise fair-minded hold negative opinions of D&D, and it is very difficult to change someone's mind about such things.

I agree. I work in a very serious industry in which I would never bring up this topic. Not even acknowledging that I played video games would be wise, and I made sure to avoid this topic during my interview.