Has the OP ever lived in any kind of dorm before (boarding school etc)?
There are adjustments to living with strangers regardless of genders. How big a deal is this to your Freshman experience? If it is about finding like minded people, maybe there is an LLC that might be a good fit for you instead?
Just saying that there may be different ways to achieve your goals if you are flexible in your thinking.
(I.e.There’s more than one way to skin a cat)
Our tourguide said she lived in Kenarden freshman year, as well. I would just call the housing office and ask for clarification.
Regarding the issue of who is paying… One of the biggest stressors on first-year students can be dorm/roommate problems. I would hope that most parents would want their child to be in a safe, nurturing environment where they can thrive. This won’t be a single sex, or even a coed, dorm for all students. Unfortunately, parents can sometimes be wrong about their children, even if they are paying.
I think it’s best to live mostly with other freshmen, as you are thinking–this may eliminate the whole dispute. One tip: if you decide to go for the traditional housing, it won’t do any harm to let your parents think you have given in to their preference for this year.
Then, for next year, you will have a better idea if the gender-neutral housing is really for you.
Wooster!!!
@saintfan Haha do you have any particular association with Wooster?
I always loved it as a school but neither of my kids looked at it. It seems like a really neat place though. I do have a friend whose son is down to Wooster as one of his final couple options so I may get to live vicariously through him, though.
It always seemed like a happy place
Ok, I’m coming at this from a purely practical point of view because I don’t have a lot of hangups about gay/straight/bi. (I’m a married straight mom of teenage girls, both apparently straight at the moment but who knows and it’s all fine as long as their partner is respectful and of commensurate quality as they are.).
I’m not sure why you think living with girls would be better. As the mom of two girls, I can tell you that girls are slobby, loud, and sheesh we have a lot of drama.
Boys are also, so I’ve been told, slobby and loud. Apparently somewhat less on the drama front, however, ha ha.
So, my sort of radar take on this whole thing is that you want to tell your parents that you’re bi, and you’re using this as a vehicle. I’d say that’s sort of disingenuous; really, it’s two different topics.
If you think when you tell your parents that you’re bi all hell will break loose and they won’t pay for college, for goodness sakes keep your mouth shut, get to college, enjoy yourself, get a good education, live in a single sex dorm (which will be fine), and tell them later when they have no power over you.
If you think they’ll be fine with it, then tell them you’re bi and then say “I want to live with girls because apparently I love to be in the middle of tornadic maelstroms of estrogen-driven drama.”
I don’t think it’s that the OP wants to live with cis women. I think it’s that the OP doesn’t care and would prefer the gender-neutral housing opportunity. You’d probably get a lot of like-minded folks in gender-neutral housing, too, which is a plus 
"So, my sort of radar take on this whole thing is that you want to tell your parents that you’re bi, and you’re using this as a vehicle. I’d say that’s sort of disingenuous; really, it’s two different topics.
If you think when you tell your parents that you’re bi all hell will break loose and they won’t pay for college, for goodness sakes keep your mouth shut, get to college, enjoy yourself, get a good education, live in a single sex dorm (which will be fine), and tell them later when they have no power over you."
This is exactly how I see it. It seems like you’re raising this because you want to raise a larger point. Honestly, if you think all hell will break loose, then just keep your mouth shut - if genders really don’t matter, then what does it matter if you live in gender-neutral housing or not?
Why do you need permission to live in this housing? If they are 100% against it and there is no way around it, deal with traditional housing while being active in LGBT activities and choose the gender neutral housing next year during housing selection.
Fit is so important in college. To me, fit doesn’t stop with the classroom or with campus activities. Some might argue that “fit” is particularly important in the dorm.
The 18 yr olds I know, are fairly flexible.
They seemed to make it work. Even those who had never shared a room or a bathroom in their life!
Personally, I think the skill of working with what you have, is going to do more for you than the reverse.
I find it interesting that some posters seem to be concerned that the OPs parents would be most concerned about him potentially living with someone with female anatomy, whereas I think the real problem they would have if they are conservative catholics is that he is bisexual, and would probably have a bigger problem if he was paired with a roommate of male anatomy on a gender-neutral hall.
Anyway, @minohi you know your parents best - if you think you can have a productive and respectful discussion about your housing preference and your sexual orientation then it’s probably better to put it out there. If not, you may need to live in co-ed housing and explore other options for upperclass years (and as another poster commented, become active in organizations in which you are interested on campus). And remember, at the end of the day, while it would be best to get the housing choice you prefer, your living arrangement does not define you - what you do with your situation defines you. Best of luck, I feel for your difficult situation with your parents and I hope that their love for you outweighs their religious beliefs.
Thank you again for all of your thoughts, everybody! I have made the executive decision to live in traditional housing for my freshman year, and then explore other options for the rest. I believe that living in traditional housing for my first year will allow my parents to adjust to both their and my new living situation. After a year, I believe that they will be ready for me to branch out and start exercising my new-found independence.
Thank you all once again for your help in making this decision! If it had not been for your insight, I don’t know if I would have been able to make the right decision (or at the very least, I’d grumpily end up succumbing to my parents’ desires.)
minohi - you sound very mature! I’m pretty sure it will all work out well. Good luck!
Best of luck, minohi! I wish you the best in whatever comes your way
Good luck to you Minohi! And you can always call Housing and explain the situation (your identity, your parents’ way of thinking, your need to equivocate for now) so that you’re paired with a compatible (open minded) roommate.