With the worlds celebration of Pride now in full swing, it’s only right to highlight the huge and growing LGBTQ+ community within the cyberworld. The largest of these communities is called Gayorzea a spin on FFXIV’s virtual land Eorzea. This free community brings together thousands of LGBTQ+ gamers with a love of Final Fantasy XIV, to a haven which they can call their own. Along with this back in 2017 Gayorzea partnered with Discord, one of the largest voice and text chat services across the globe.
“Gayorzea places itself in the business of bringing people together as a fully-fledged LGBTQ community – and of course, they really love playing Final Fantasy XIV together! Their main goal is to make it easier to share experiences with other like-minded players. They have channels for peer support and advice on any subject; whether it’s questioning gender identity or sexuality, relationship matters, mental health topics and sexual health too. The group is currently in the process of creating the first issue of their magazine which will celebrate its artists, writers, streamers, and stories from members around the world.”
“Gayorzea exists to be a safe haven away from the animosity. It is such a diverse community and has members from all around the world. It is a place where people that suffer real hardship and physical torment in their countries for just being who they are can seek a little reprieve.”
“So if nothing else for international Pride month, we’re not just reflecting on how we can be proud to be who we are, we’re also celebrating that we can create something really special… something that’s welcoming, inclusive and fun for everyone, regardless of who they are.”
“…we’re really grateful to companies like Discord and Square Enix for showing real leadership in the world and supporting the LGBTQ community. Final Fantasy XIV did this, of course a few years ago by allowing same-sex ‘marriages’ in game.”
For more information on Gayozea visit their main website here.
Originally published July 9, 2018. Updated January 29, 2020.
