<p>I don’t think being gay is that big of deal, being a gay guy myself, so I don’t think there should be a confrontation when meeting someone. The roommate will likely know whether or not the guy/girl is gay, but that should not determine his/her friendship. I, personally, would not ask the guy/girl straight up if he/she is gay because it’s really none of my business, and if he/she were, then so what? That’s their personal life and it shouldn’t be an indicator of friendship.</p>
<p>If the person is comfortable being out (or out to me), then I’d think that telling me would be the good thing to do. There are things I’d do differently if I was living with a gay roommate of my gender (male) than with a straight one, namely the same the same things I’d do differently if I was living with a female who I was not in a relationship with.</p>
<p>I have no problem with someone being who they are, unless who they are (as a person, not as a sexual being) makes my life significantly harder. I have no issue with someone who’s gay having a sex life (as long as he’s ok with me having one), but if there’s a sock on the door a whole lot when I want to be in my room, I’d have issues.</p>
<p>Even if I was sure my roomate was lesbian, I would NOT ask. I would want her to be comfortable enough to tell me. If she was, I don’t think I would mind too much. I don’t think I would live my daily life any differently. (Anyone else too shy to change clothes in front of others?) I read a statistic somewhere that said that about 40% of all college students are LGBT.</p>
<p>Ok I feel the need to clarify that I am siding with IBfootballer on the single dorm thing, when I said that the truth isn’t always brilliant it was more of a “you don’t need a brilliant argument for it to be the truth” kind of statement. No need to insult the intelligence of others…</p>
<p>It’s definitely a private matter. I mean, please, try looking at the situation from more than one perspective. Do you think it would be normal if someone came up to you on your first day and asked “Hey, are you straight?”. No, that would be weird, just as weird as asking someone if they are gay (“weird” might be a slightly different adjective than what I’m looking to use, but I hope you guys know what I mean).</p>
<p>That’s not to say that I wouldn’t want it to be a secret forever, it would be nice to know, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find out.</p>
<p>I don’t like it when people lie to me or try to hide things from me, so yes, I’d want to know if my roommate was a lesbian. I wouldn’t mind at all and I wouldn’t behave any differently around them than I would with a straight roommate, but I don’t like it when people do things like introduce me to their “friend,” because it often doesn’t take long for me to figure out that it’s actually their girlfriend. I’d rather just have them be honest with me about it. It’d obviously be their choice whether or not to tell me, though. I’d just leave the door open, telling them from the beginning that I don’t like living in a space full of secrets, so they’re free to talk to me absolutely anything without threat of ridicule, blabbing, awkwardness, etc.</p>
<p>On a related topic, if you ARE bothered by the idea of sharing space with someone who’s gay or trans, can you specify that when you apply for housing? Obviously this only works if they indicate somewhere that they’re LGBT (they might not), but it’s a thought.</p>
<p>I’ve never lived in a dorm and probably never will, so I don’t know how these things work.</p>