# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/21 "2013-06-27T02:58:22Z")
As to the OP: Why would I care? Women never found me attractive; I doubt a guy would. (I would not even be bothered by a request for a date as long as he accepted a polite “no” as the end of the discussion.) ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/22 "2013-06-27T03:01:05Z")
I lost all of my body shyness a couple of decade or so back. Before then, I would always wrap myself in a towel. Not because of fear of someone being attracted to me, but because I had a negative self-image. But, now? I don’t care. I do like to go to the bathroom privately, but dressing or showering? Not anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Valteron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f17d59/32.png) [@Valteron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valteron)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/23 "2013-06-27T03:20:20Z")
Why does the OP ask the question in terms of gays, anyhow? Do men and women at the hundreds and hundreds of nude beaches (or topless beaches) in Europe and the Americas wonder the same thing? Do the men and women who bathe naked in Japanese bath-houses ask one another if they are uncomfortable? Are women uncomfortable going to a heterosexual, male gynecologist? Are men uncomfortable getting a bed bath from a woman in a hospital? Or Scandinavians naked in the traditional sauna? Or Greek athletes performing naked in the Ancient Olympics? I could go on all night about the number of times all over the world, people expose their nakedness to other people who could conceivably be attracted to them. I think what really bothers Esco is the myth of gays as the horny, hidden vampire in the shadows, ready to pounce. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/24 "2013-06-27T03:25:34Z")
Sharing a dressing room with anyone bothers me a great deal; their orientation isn’t going to even be on the radar, just the simple fact that they are there. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/25 "2013-06-27T03:25:43Z")
> [@Valteron](#): > > I am a gay man and I have changed in locker rooms with other men for decades. If a guy is really good looking I don’t deny that I sneak a quick, discrete look. So what? Most men, gay or straight, look at the bodies of other men when they get a chance. It is partly sexual, partly just curiosity. Going to have to go with no on that one. I’m looking at my feet or someone else’s face if conversation is engaged. > [@Valteron](#): > > What really makes gay men laugh is when some straight guy 30 lbs. overweight with a pot belly, hair on his back, a bald spot on his head and a face like an old tire says about gays: “They better stay away from ME!!!” as if he contemplates having to beat us off with a stick. so you like to comment on pot bellied bald furry backed guys? You want to rethink that statement for a bit? > [@Valteron](#): > > The funny thing about straight men is that they think gays are just drooling for sex 24/7 with any male they can get their hands on. Occasionally, a bi guy will decide to “take a walk on the wild side” and tries to get picked up at a gay spot. There is nothing sadder than his realization that gays are NOT drooling after him and that getting laid is not easy, unless you happen to be a Channing Tatum look-alike. Or, and I’m just throwing this out because of what you just said, straight men don’t want to be the topic of conversation because of discrete peeks at them regardless of how they look? > [@Valteron](#): > > Do you have a pic of yourself you can show me, Esco? Because I might have good news and bad news. The good news is that you need not be uncomfortable with gays in the locker room. The bad news is that it’s because they are not very attracted to you. Are you ready for the truth and let the chips fall where they may? Not only does your opinion not matter on how another man looks naked but it’s greatly not appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![mumbojumbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/97f17d/32.png) [@mumbojumbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mumbojumbo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/26 "2013-06-27T03:25:47Z")
> [@Esco](#): > > I played sports all my life, and I’m not naive enough to think no closeted gays were ever on my team whom I may have shared a dressing room with. > > I just think its something I’d rather not know. > Its none of my business what people do in the privacy of their own homes anyways I can guarantee you that the next time you sit down in the locker room, you’ll be sitting right where two men had sex the night before. At least then you’ll have some time to reminisce about all the shitty, cummy, anus blood you must have sat in over the years. Grow up, bud. True, it _may_ be a psychopathological disorder involving fear of being raped mercilessly in your sleep by a large, muscled jock. In that case I would give due credit to the mental illness. Although, I suspect that it’s a relatively simple case of insecurity or an absurdly intense, self-loving, “everybody wants to fuck me” attitude. Let me ask Dr. Sigmund Freud for input. Were you ever touched as a child? Have you ever heard of the seven holes? My diagnosis is that I think you may be attempting to mate with a hybrid clone of your mother and father reincarnated as sheep in the year 2315. If this world made any sense, we would view the nude human body as it is and have no need for change rooms of any kind. The entire world really should be one big naturist resort. You may one day have a good reason to fear a homosexual. Trust me, when that happens, their gayness will be the least of your worries. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/27 "2013-06-27T03:31:57Z")
> [@Valteron](#): > > I think what really bothers Esco is the myth of gays as the horny, hidden vampire in the shadows, ready to pounce. or that men are pigs and will fuck anything that moves. Which explains why the devastation of aids was a male thing and not a gay thing. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/28 "2013-06-27T03:43:11Z")
I would have no problem with it. I would be as uncomfortable with a gay man checking me out and becoming aroused as I would with a straight woman that I did not find at all sexually attractive doing the same. In other words, I would awkwardly try to ignore it and go about my business. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/29 "2013-06-27T03:45:22Z")
Have shared hotel rooms, tents and dorm rooms with men I knew were gay, whole lotta meh ensued. OP doesn’t really sound homophobic to me, more like he was taught a certain flavor of body modesty and feels wonky about changing it. My advice would be to seek out the opportunity; after a couple three exposures you’ll be saying ‘wow, glad I’m not occupying my brain with that, anymore.’ ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/30 "2013-06-27T03:48:05Z")
> [@Valteron](#): > > What really makes gay men laugh is when some straight guy 30 lbs. overweight with a pot belly, hair on his back, a bald spot on his head and a face like an old tire says about gays: “They better stay away from ME!!!” as if he contemplates having to beat us off with a stick. C’mon, this is everyone, not just straight guys. The people that most worry about having their virtue assaulted by ogling, regardless of orientation or gender, are the ones that need worry the least. Attractive people tend to be flattered, blase, or puzzled. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/31 "2013-06-27T03:49:20Z")
Doesn’t bother me. If he’s turned on, I’m flattered, but not persuaded. ---
**Author:** ![Valteron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f17d59/32.png) [@Valteron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valteron)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/32 "2013-06-27T03:49:41Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > so you like to comment on pot bellied bald furry backed guys? You want to rethink that statement for a bit? No, I don’t want to rethink that statement because it is perfectly valid. I don’t run out of the locker room and giggle like a school girl about what some straight men look like. I am always alone when I leave the gym. I simply find it hilarious when a straight guy I would not have sex with under ANY circumstances looks around in fear for the predatory gay vampires who, he is certain, must be just barely controlling their lust in the face of what he imagines to be his adonis-like beauty, and angrily declares “they better not try that stuff on ME!!!” Straight men past 30 are like the Emperor with his new clothes. Nobody tells them the truth about their looks. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/33 "2013-06-27T03:59:05Z")
If you’ve ever played sports, you’ve showered with a gay dude. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/34 "2013-06-27T04:01:46Z")
I’d be comfortable sharing anything with a gay person, apart from sex or other activities that might result in swapping bodily fluids. A dressing room? Pffff… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/35 "2013-06-27T04:05:18Z")
> [@Among\_Liberals](#): > > You have turned on many gay men without knowing about it. No, I’m pretty sure I haven’t. I don’t turn on many straight women and I’m trying to do that. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/36 "2013-06-27T04:12:27Z")
No problem at all. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/37 "2013-06-27T04:24:07Z")
> [@Valteron](#): > > No, I don’t want to rethink that statement because it is perfectly valid. I don’t run out of the locker room and giggle like a school girl about what some straight men look like. I am always alone when I leave the gym. I simply find it hilarious when a straight guy I would not have sex with under ANY circumstances looks around in fear for the predatory gay vampires who, he is certain, must be just barely controlling their lust in the face of what he imagines to be his adonis-like beauty, and angrily declares “they better not try that stuff on ME!!!” Straight men past 30 are like the Emperor with his new clothes. Nobody tells them the truth about their looks. You just got done admitting that you look at men in the locker room and then went on to make fun of fat,furry, bald men. I can only conclude that since you make these comments on the internet you do the same among your friends. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/38 "2013-06-27T04:36:28Z")
I share hotel rooms or tents with a gay colleague frequently when we travel for field work. I’ve done the same with women, too (though not in a professional setting). It’s not a big deal. > [@Magiver](#): > > You just got done admitting that you look at men in the locker room and then went on to make fun of fat,furry, bald men. > > I can only conclude that since you make these comments on the internet you do the same among your friends. If you’re reading for comprehension, he made fun of fat, furry bald men _who think they’re objects of lust for gay men_. Big difference. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/39 "2013-06-27T05:05:50Z")
I worked in Theatre for a little while, where it’s inescapable. I don’t care. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005/40 "2013-06-27T05:14:08Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > You just got done admitting that you look at men in the locker room and then went on to make fun of fat,furry, bald men. > > I can only conclude that since you make these comments on the internet you do the same among your friends. Is there a reason you seem to be taking this so personally and seem to be having a small hissy fit about it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-comfortable-sharing-a-dressing-room-with-a-gay-person/662005.md?page=3)