User Blog:
That's right Honey, I'm a LARPer
The internet has a lot to answer for.
I’m serious, when I first caved in to peer pressure and started signing up to social networking sites I was still in the habit of compartmentalising my friends into different groups. Friends and family from my hometown, friends from university, drama group buddies and gamer friends, all pigeonholed and kept apart. They didn’t embarrass me; it was just easier that way.
This all changed when I got my first email with the text:
A friend of yours has tagged a photo of you on Facebook.
The hairs on my neck rose, my butt clenched tighter than a snare-drum.
My mother was a mouse-click away from seeing pictures of me dressed as an elf. Or a vampire. Or a medieval hunter called Albrecht.
When my initial panic subsided I started thinking about the vestigial shame that can still be attached to being a larper. If owning up to such a hobby is like coming out of the closet, what’s the best way to do so? Is shame really helping the reputation of the game?
Besides, there are worse ways for someone to find out than Facebook.
Picture the scene:
You are Joe Larper, at home rifling through your kit-bag. In your hands is a new necklace. It’s huge, brightly coloured and threatens knock out the teeth of passers-by if you turn around too fast.
It may just be a gaudy piece of jewellery, but to you it’s the Talisman of Baggroth, a relic from ancient times taken from the Demonlord Argus at the Battle of Dagmar Pass.
It also reduces the casting time of your spells by two seconds.
You’ve been perfecting this outfit for months, and excited at having finally made your alter-ego a reality you get changed into full kit.
There you are; in majestic robes with lace trimming, an ebony dagger strapped at your waist for an air of quiet menace. Your elongated, elven ears peak out from your hood, belying your true heritage as a creature of ancient power and wisdom. A leather mask with runic detail adds the final touch.
You look great and you know it. Better than you’ve ever looked at the office and you have to let some of that feeling out:
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View Comments (7)
My core point is that being embarassed about your hobbies is what creates the problems in the first place. Treating them like a shameful secret only reinforces a stereotype that shouldn't exist. I'm not ashamed of who I am or what I do, and if I make a joke about it (which I often do) then it's just that, a joke.
Most of my co-workers know that I larp, because I don't see any reason to be ashamed of it. When I explain what it is, they have been universally positive about it, saying that it sounds interesting or, at the very least, amusing. It's not a regular topic of conversation over the water cooler, but that's because it isn't something I have in common with them, not because I feel as if I am somehow juvenile or unprofessional or .
Of course, I work at a university. Academics are by their nature fairly obsessive creatures, I think, so are unlikely to look down on someone whose interests are as all-consuming as their research can be to them. At the same time, though, I can't really see myself deliberately hiding something that has become such a significant part of who I am; I wouldn't consciously avoid talking about my son or my husband or my appalling taste in TV shows, so why is this any different?
Consider me your devil's advocate, I suppose? I would be interested in seeing you explore why you're willing to buy in to the supposed stigma around larp, and roleplaying generally, rather than assuming that you and your audience are both going to do so from the off.
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