In the last 4 years I've known or been friends with 3 people who've committed suicide within the LGBT community. Two of the three came out as being transgender and the other was gay. Now, I will say that I live in Utah and the hatred towards this segment of our community is beyond words. I have never understood why people have such hatred towards another human being in how that other person loves and expresses themselves. Whom you love or how you look doesn't define you as a person, how you treat yourself and those around you very much defines you and your character.
The question is, within the scope of online gaming do you come across those who would fall into this group and if so do you treat them with the same respect and kindness you would anyone else? Or do you shy away from actually gaming because you're worried that someone may hit on you or that some how magically you're going to find yourself in that group?
I've played WoW on and off since 2009, I've never come across in-game anyone who was openly apart of the LGBT community and I wonder if there is as much far of being abused in-game as there is in everyday life. I would imagine so and that's so sad to me.
For the record, I am transgendered. Yes, let the trolling begin. I have known ALL my life that I am different and that something went horribly wrong as my body formed and my brain wired itself. It isn't a choice, just as you choosing to be straight or your heart beating isn't a choice. Imagine waking up every single day and hating the body your in so much that it causes physical pain and suffering. Imagine hating your body so much that you don't want to bathe yourself. Imagine hating yourself so much that the ONLY way to be happy in life is either change or kill yourself.
That's a very small insight into what it is like being transgendered. Then you throw the hatred the world piles on you on top of that, it's pretty easy to see why people kill themselves.
I keep my private life very, very private and very few of my friends know that I've changed my outside to more align with my inside. That doesn't make me a bad person, what would make me a bad person is being bad to other human beings or not taking personal responsibility for my life.
I am not telling you who I am to either get you to accept me or the LGBT community, that's your choice. But what I would hope is that when you come across someone who is in the LGBT community in-game consider that they are people too, that they have feelings the same as you do and that their life choice doesn't make them a bad person and that folks in the LGBT community love gaming as much as you do.