Just the other day, I had received a question from someone regarding their worries for the upcoming school year. She introduced herself as an incoming freshman at some college in the Midwest and began to describe to me her dilemma in regards to her future roommates:
"I'm unsure as to whether or not I should come out to my roommate because if I do, I don't want them to think I might try to come onto them or something."
This issue continues to frustrate me. Unfortunately, it seems as though the LGBT community cannot not shake the old myth/stereotype (however you'd like to describe it) that lesbians and gays will automatically be attracted to every person they meet that happens to share the same gender.
It's ridiculous that many students still have to deal with such ignorance. No one should ever have to worry about how they will be perceived by others simply due to their own private sex life. The whole concept of needing to "come out" is already ridiculous enough; the fact that we have to make it clear to our friends, family, and even society that we are "different" is odd enough as is.
Luckily, over the years, a handful of universities have taken on the idea of coed dorming to try and help with this issue. Ohio University, for example, was one of the first schools to start a pilot program specifically for "gender neutral" housing/dorms. They did this, not to encourage heterosexual couples to room together, but to make dorm life a more comfortable experience for students by basing the housing arrangements off of character compatibility rather than shared genders.
Some religious universities, such as the Catholic University of America turned away from such a program due to the belief that such housing situations would merely encourage casual sex as well as drinking (as if such activities were not already happening in a college setting). It seems to me as though such institutions are more worried about upholding their reputation and "image" rather than catering to the needs or comfort of their students. Something's a little off here.
So, what can LGBT students do in the meantime if gender neutral dorms aren't an option or if they must room with a stranger? My answer to this person was simply: No one is entitled to any information regarding your personal life, including your sexual identity. If you want to tell your roommate, great! But never feel guilty or pressured into telling anyone anything; your sexuality being unknown to someone will not prevent that person from getting to know "the real you".
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