The Eyes of Mara

[Prudence]

I think that depends on context too. I mean, it doesn't really help me pick out GC at an airport if you tell me he's gay. It's irrelevant. It's like when someone's describing rude behavior they witnessed and they say "and then this (fat/skinny/flashy/poorly-dressed/white-shoe-after-labor-day-wearing/backwards baseball cap/sorwhore/D&D geek) person gave me the finger!" When the descriptor really is code for something the speaker considers unsuitable, it's an attempt to whitewash an otherwise offensive sentiment of "because you know all X people are Y."

I suppose sometimes I rationalize. I mean, I don't say "so yesterday I was talking to my friend - her dad's Egyptian, you know - and blah blah blah." But I have been known to say (in certain company, like when describing my friends to my mom) that "sometimes she feels like the world's against her because her dad's Egyptian and doesn't think she should be in school" instead of just "because her dad doesn't think she should be in school." I rationalize that I'm trying to convey that there's a cultural component to the disapproval rather than just some blanket misogyny, but I'm probably fooling myself.