Have you ever instantly fallen in love with the girl you pass everyday while walking to class? Or the girl you sit next to in 8 a.m. Brit. lit? You know how it goes: Our first thought is always, “I wonder if she likes girls?” And instead of doing the logical thing—you know, just asking her if she likes girls—our minds race through these nine irrational ways to figure out for ourselves.
1. Ask about her list of closet celebrities
Trust us, pretty much every girl who is into girls has her list of celebrities that she swears are secretly in the closet. We will fight someone to the death to defend this list, and no one can change our minds about it. If she does not have a well thought-out list that she truly believes in, then there’s a good chance she is not into girls.
Bonus tip: According to The Gay Women channel on YouTube, when you ask her if she thinks Kristen Stewart is straight, her answer can tell you a lot about her sexuality. Spoiler alert: Whatever she thinks Kristen Stewart is, she is, too.
2. Ask her if she has watched the Carmilla web series
There are many amazing LGBTQ+ web series on YouTube right now, and let’s be real, girls who like girls can’t resist watching characters they can relate to (can anyone, really?). And we definitely can’t resist vampires who are into girls. Enter, Carmilla. If she hasn’t watched it – or heard of it – then it is pretty likely that she does not play for your team. If she hasn’t heard of it tell her the premise and see if she is interested!
3. Ask her who her favorite character from The L Word is
Admit it, The L Word is your guilty pleasure. We have been through it all with the characters and stuck with it even though we couldn’t stand Jenny. The show hits almost every LGBTQ+ demographic, which draws all of us in. Most likely a girl won’t have watched or be watching The L Word unless she’s into girls, so ask her about it. Pro tip: Make sure Jenny is not her favorite character, because then she might be crazy.
4. Stalk her on social media
We all do it. If you know her name you can find most of her social media sites. Look at what she Tweets about, what kinds of pictures she posts on Facebook and what she writes on her blogs. Bonus points to you if you can find her Tumblr, because that’s where you will most likely find out who she truly is. In your super-sleuth mission, look for Tegan and Sara on her music likes and see how many gifs of The L Word she has reblogged. Analyze the data you collect and come to an educated conclusion.
5. Ask her when the new season of Orange Is the New Black comes on
We all love to debate whether or not Piper and Alex belong together. Find out if she’s as much of a fangirl as we all are. If she knows the exact release date, then there’s a good chance she likes the ladies.
6. Ask about the clothes she cannot live without
Keep a running tally of how many times she wears flannels every month, because according to Khadijah Thompson, a student at Johnson and Wales University – Charlotte, “There’s got to be some kind of ratio there.” We all know we can’t live without our flannels (always paired with our Birks), and if she can’t either…You know what that means.
7. Play the “what are the odds” game
Many college students plays this game. We ask, “What are the odds you will jump in the pool fully clothed?” or “What are the odds you will go sing to that stranger?” Well, it’s time to step it up, ladies. Ask her, “What are the odds that you will kiss that girl over there?” or, if you’re feeling super brave, ask her, “What are the odds that you will kiss me?” Based on her reaction and the number range she chooses, you can pretty much tell if she likes girls.
8. Ask about her likes and dislikes
Ask if she likes any certain sports (bonus points if she plays softball or rugby). Ask her about certain books with LGBTQ+ characters. Ask her if she listens to Tegan and Sara. Has she seen Blue Is the Warmest Color? Does she fangirl about any LGBTQ+ characters in TV shows? There are countless other things we are all obsessed with that you can play off of to mention to her.
9. Just ask her if she likes girls
Okay, you realized by now that we were kidding, right? All of these ways to ask are simply based on stereotypes, and we don’t all fit into every one of them – some of us don’t fit into any! We are all unique individuals, and the only way to really know if she likes girls is to straight up ask her. So be brave and go for it.