# Would you be comfortable sharing a dressing room with a gay person?? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 27, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005 "2013-06-27T01:58:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/341 "2013-07-01T16:22:33Z")
I’m okay with a law banning Esco from gym lockers. It would certainly be easier than what _he’s_ proposing. ---
**Author:** ![Esco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9de053/32.png) [@Esco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esco)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/342 "2013-07-01T16:22:49Z")
> [@ctnguy](#): > > I’ve already pointed this out once. You posted earlier: > > You _literally_ said that gay and straight athletes should have separate change rooms Yes, but I’m saying I’m willing to move, as opposed to asking gays to move. Hence it would not be a forced segregation for the gays. Understand??! ---
**Author:** ![Esco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9de053/32.png) [@Esco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esco)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/343 "2013-07-01T16:25:50Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I’m okay with a law banning Esco from gym lockers. It would certainly be easier than what _he’s_ proposing Except I’m not the only heterosexual male who you’d have to ban. There’s a lot more of us! Reason you wont hear many speak out in media is because they’re in fear of being boycoytted by groups like GLAAD, and cause them to lose endorsements or even be released from their team. This is what society has become now, dont agree with the gay movement, you’re a bigot and we want you to lose your job. Oh, and the fact Lefties dont agree with FoxNews is perfectly OK. thats just because they dont agree with their policies :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/344 "2013-07-01T16:31:47Z")
> [@Esco](#): > > Except I’m not the only heterosexual male who you’d have to ban. There’s a lot more of us! > > Reason you wont hear many speak out in media is because they’re in fear of being boycoytted by groups like GLAAD, and cause them to lose endorsements or even be released from their team. > > This is what society has become now, dont agree with the gay movement, you’re a bigot and we want you to lose your job. > > Oh, and the fact Lefties dont agree with FoxNews is perfectly OK. thats just because they dont agree with their policies :rolleyes: Oh yeah, that huge “GLAAD” lobby. They’re known for being a major economic player, terrorizing the entire media with their awesome power. And I do so love the “you’re a bigot for not letting me be a bigot” argument. It’s always a winner. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/345 "2013-07-01T16:33:16Z")
> [@Esco](#): > > Yes, but I’m saying I’m willing to move, as opposed to asking gays to move. > > Hence it would not be a forced segregation for the gays. Understand??! No, you’d move and force the gays to _stay_. Which is still a forced segregation. Understand??! ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/346 "2013-07-01T16:33:50Z")
There is so much I could say that I can’t even condense it properly. Esco keeps ignoring most of the points about women’s changing rooms and discrimination and all that, so I’ll put it right on the nose. Esco, the only thing you can do is either go home and change there, or somehow convince a gym to pay $1200 for the installation and upkeep of a single corner stall for you. Those are the only OK things you can do. Segregating people based on you feeling uneasy is NOT OK. What you are asking for is NOT OK. Can’t stress that enough. There is literally nothing you can say that will make segregating minorities ok. It will never be ok. Repeatedly asking for people to think of poor you feeling uneasy while gay folks face the possibility of getting beat up or even murdered simply for being gay is frankly, disgusting. If anyone in that locker room has a likelihood of being harassed, it’s not going to be you, it’s going to be a gay person. Yet you can’t stop and think one moment about that, and what it’s like. All that matters to you is your irrational fear. If you’re sitting there thinking, “We’re in a civilized modern country, that does not happen in the USA so gay people don’t have it as bad as you say and I don’t have to consider that”, [think again](http://gothamist.com/2013/05/18/man_fatally_shot_on_greenwich_villa.php). ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/347 "2013-07-01T16:37:02Z")
> [@Esco](#): > > You’re changing the subject again. Czarcasm’s argument was that gays never sexually harrass men. Never said that. I was saying that(until you posted those questionable links of very rare incidents) the only thing you gave us to work on was an illogical homophobia on your part vs. a well established and vast history of men sexually harassing women. The fact is that you waited until just a few posts ago to attempt to justify your bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![Esco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9de053/32.png) [@Esco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esco)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/348 "2013-07-01T16:38:06Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Oh yeah, that huge “GLAAD” lobby. They’re known for being a major economic player, terrorizing the entire media with their awesome power GLAAD got Roland Martin fired from CNN: [CNN's Roland Martin Under Fire From GLAAD For David Beckham Super Bowl Tweets | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/roland-martin-david-beckham-glaad-super-bowl_n_1257036.html) And a whole bunch of other people fired also. Too lazy to google them all, but I could if you want me to ---
**Author:** ![Esco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9de053/32.png) [@Esco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esco)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/349 "2013-07-01T16:39:35Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > No, you’d move and force the gays to _stay_. Which is still a forced segregation. Understand??! No, because I’m entitled to privacy when I’m in my own shower stall. Understand?? ---
**Author:** ![Esco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9de053/32.png) [@Esco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esco)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/350 "2013-07-01T16:41:36Z")
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**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/351 "2013-07-01T16:42:15Z")
> [@Esco](#): > > No, because I’m entitled to privacy when I’m in my own shower stall. > > Understand?? But you’re not entitled to your own shower stall. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/352 "2013-07-01T16:42:32Z")
I haven’t read any other replies. Yep. I would and I have. My being undressed doesn’t equal sex. ---
**Author:** ![Esco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9de053/32.png) [@Esco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esco)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/353 "2013-07-01T16:50:55Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > But you’re not entitled to your own shower stall Most gyms come with private shower stalls. Try again ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/354 "2013-07-01T16:59:35Z")
> [@Esco](#): > > Most gyms come with private shower stalls. > > Try again Do you think gyms might get into trouble if they start catering to bigotry by having segregated dressing rooms? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/355 "2013-07-01T17:00:43Z")
> [@Esco](#): > > Most gyms come with private shower stalls. > > Try again I can’t speak to “most.” But I’ve never been in a gym with private shower stalls for men. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/356 "2013-07-01T17:04:55Z")
> [@Esco](#): > > Except I’m not the only heterosexual male who you’d have to ban. There’s a lot more of us! Well, we’ll start with just you and see how it goes. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/357 "2013-07-01T17:05:23Z")
There are private stalls at most gyms. If not hard barriers, at least curtains. It’s for privacy though, not protection. I’m just astonished at how this has grown to 8 pages. The entire notion of sexually-segregated locker rooms fails both on a theoretical and a practical level. a) It’s a bigoted idea spawned from horrible and incorrect preconceived notions of homosexuality and b) It’s impossible to enforce. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/358 "2013-07-01T17:09:22Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > Haven’t read the thread so I’ll just answer the OP: > > Regardless of their sexual orientation I’d be uncomfortable being naked in front of a stranger I knew was sexually interested in me. > > If I can’t tell they’re sexually interested in me, I don’t care. If I can tell, and I can continue being able to tell after I’ve asked them to stop making it possible for me to tell, then we have issues bigger than their sexual orientation. > > However, I’d be uncomfortable being dressed in front of a stranger I knew was sexually interested in me so a locker room doesn’t change the equation much. I find this the most strangest statement yet… ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/359 "2013-07-01T17:10:41Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > There are private stalls at most gyms. If not hard barriers, at least curtains. It’s for privacy though, not protection. > > I’m just astonished at how this has grown to 8 pages. The entire notion of sexually-segregated locker rooms fails both on a theoretical and a practical level. a) It’s a bigoted idea spawned from horrible and incorrect preconceived notions of homosexuality and b) It’s impossible to enforce. Totally impossible. Are you supposed to declare your sexual orientation at the door? What if you suspect the person is gay, but they either haven’t come out of the closet yet, or they just think it’s none of your damn business? ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/360 "2013-07-01T17:18:16Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > I know it may be five pages back or so, but one of the earliest responses did question the culture which has made nudity “naughty” and suggested we might all be better off with shared facilities. Being exposed to other peoples bodies in normal situations woud ddo much to diffuse the guilt/lust cycle. Agreed. But clearly a lot of people disagree as it is the norm to be segregated by sex. If everyone saying they don’t mind undressing in front of gay people will also say they don’t mind undressing in front of the opposite sex, fine (although I’d be interested to put it to the test and see if it’s easier said than done). But if they don’t mind undressing in front of gays and do mind undressing in front of the opposite sex, why is that? Perhaps only because the former is not something we’re likely to consider, and when we do we think about it logically, whereas the latter idea is socially ingrained. > [@Gyrate](#): > > A very nice job of poisoning the well there. Clearly our sole motivation for mocking the guy who thinks that the answer to the problem “I get uncomfortable with the thought of gay people looking at my winky” is “segregate the gays” rather than “Get over it, Mildred” is to reinforce the Immutable Laws of Liberalism. Heaven forfend we suggest that punishing others for our own insecurities is discriminatory at best and a tad crazy at worst. > > While the merits and demerits of unisex dressing rooms may be debated, the fact remains that he and pretty much anyone who has used a dressing room from time to time has very likely shared it with a gay person who has managed to refrain from ogling, groping or sexually assaulting him, and therefore there is little substance to these ultimately irrational fears. And when one persists in saying that the argument “It makes me uncomfortable, therefore we should segregate others” constitutes “logic”, well…mockery is inevitable and not entirely inappropriate. “Poisoning the well”? In what sense? Not the usual one, presumably. What I said is based on what I am seeing, and that is the nastiness that comes out when it’s considered socially acceptable. There’s an interesting discussion to be had on the topic, and mocking is just a lazy way to avoid that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005.md?page=19)