I am a parent of a gay son. He had roommates two years. The first year, the “match” with the roommate was, to put it mildly, less than ideal. While I don’t think that my son’s sexuality was the biggest “issue,” my sense is that it mattered, in a negative way, from the very beginning.
To say that things are so much better these days - yes indeed that surely is true. But there is ENORMOUS variation in individuals’ acceptance of homosexuality and it is not wise to ignore that this could be an issue with a roommate in college. In fact, I find it disappointing that colleges take the approach of: well, it SHOULD not matter, we are a tolerant community, therefore, we will place anybody with anybody and just assume that everything will be OK. I don’t know what exactly to suggest as an alternative, but it simply is not fair to either student to dump a straight kid with a gay kid and just hope for the best, particularly since gay kids have lived their entire lives with the message received in so many ways that they are not the “right” sexuality. I mean that comment very specifically - being gay can be a source of negative self-feelings and so the risk of having a negative encounter or simply an ongoing uncomfortable relationship with a roomie is really something big - it matters and it ought to be avoided if possible. I do NOT believe that it is the gay kid’s responsibility to “teach” the straight kid tolerance and grace. If the gay roomie chooses that path, well, at least it is his choice.
Interestingly, I think the discomfort can go in both directions. My son did not change his clothing in front of his roommate (not totally, that is). In fact, in his many years as an athlete, he did not change clothing in the locker room. Just too self conscious. This is not unusual. There have been a couple of famous athletes who have come out of the closet and talked about how the locker room situation was the one that was the greatest source of concern (to face AFTER coming out, that is).
As an extra tidbit - I will add that my son encountered open homophobes on campus at a VERY liberal small college. All types of people attend all types of colleges.
My recommendation for the original poster of this thread? Get a single room for your son.