Does it matter what gender I fall in love with?

I noticed that in the "BTW..." menu I get when talking to people, I can declare that I love them. I am not entirely sure what effect that has, but does it matter who I say it to? Can I, as a girl, say it to another girl and get the same effects as saying it to a male character?

If the character has a relationship level of at least 7 and is a candidate for dating, you will begin dating them. You can see which characters are suitable for dating by looking at the relationship panel. Those suitable for dating will have 1-10 hearts denoting your relationship level, everyone else will have stars.

If you say "I love you" to someone who is not a valid candidate (too young, old, wrong gender, etc), not around level 7 relationship, or just a bad day (possibly some unknown reason) they will just take it as a joke. There is no option for a homosexual relationship.