So, it occured to me a few seconds ago that one of my greatest concerns Re: my gaming hobby is a concern of my fictional character, Robin Smith's, in Becoming Robin...

I won't post TOO much about what's going on because I don't want to draw unwanted attention to Erin's wonderful site here (Google keyword search would snatch it up in a heartbeat). I will say that a gaming company, maker of one of the world's largest online games, has declared that in order to post on their forums after the next big expansion, you must use your real name to post.

The reason this sits wrong with me is because you absolutely can't change the name associated with your game account without court documentation that you legally changed your name, so there are quite a few of us T-folk, both MtF, FtM, and myself, deeply closeted but still "open" about my LGBT status with the safety that playing an anonymous character brings, who are seriously threatened by this.

I comment on it in blog-form because I realized I'm experiencing, in terms of my feelings, PRECISELY the kind of fear of harassment Robin feels pretty often when she's afraid someone will find out her birth sex.

As an aside I find it kind of neat that the other trans gamers who came out of the woodwork to post quoted what I had to say as an example of why they feel upset too. It made me feel really good knowing I could vocalize their fears and concerns, even though we're all pretty much certain we're done posting there (and I've canceled my account in protest.)

I've edited the original quote only to remove keywords that, again, Google would snatch up like a kid in a candy store. :-)

I realize and respect what you're trying to do with this, but honestly, this is the last post I'm ever going to make on your forums. I'll probably switch to exclusively posting on (another website) or one of the other third-party fansites because I happen to value my anonymity. Why? Because I like being able to be myself without the stigma that comes with not having 'come out' offline. I'm TG, but forced to use my given name for official documentation like (official website). If you're going to force me to use the name that means absolutely nothing to me except "lol bur ur not a real girl" and all the abuse that comes with that? Then that's it. I'm through.

It was a nice ride, but just let me off at the next station.

I'll still play as long as the game is fun, and I hope you accomplish your goals, but as of now I'm boycotting this Facebook garbage, and I hope to God you realize the mistake you're making.

And

Exactly why I don't like this. The only time I've ever talked about my LGBTIS status is when posting on (character name) precisely to avoid this sort of situation. This is terrible, and it's only going to be worse for a lot of us, not just T-folk. Exactly why I'm getting off this crazy train and watching the resulting train wreck from a distance.

I mentioned earlier that I was in a really, really bad mood. This is why. I used to contribute a lot to this game forum, helping new players out and answering questions (and heckling the forum trolls - all in fun), but now I think I'm just going to stick to console gaming and writing as my main hobbies.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that little "Oh neat!" moment of realization. I think I just grew a little bit as a writer and as a person, now that I understand her fears a little bit better because of this. :-)

~Zoe

Edit: For context, "this sort of situation" mentioned in the second quote was a girl who was 'outed' because someone found out her real name, and... Well, you can guess how it ended :-/ It was after she told her story that I went ahead and canceled my account. I just couldn't in good conscience continue to support the company after that.

"Zoe, you are definitely the Queen of Sweetness with these Robin stories!"
~ Tychonaut