Recently, a lot of people have been putting people down for having preferences that they claim are bigotry. There is a huge difference between the two.
Bigotry is, by definition, intolerance. Preference can be intolerant and thus bigotry, but people are often getting angry about people simply having a preference for something involving race, religion, gender, or sex. Preference is having a greater like for some things over other things. People with preferences don't necessarily have to be intolerant of the things that aren't part of their preference.
For example, one thing I personally see fairly often is people being called bigoted because they find white skin more attractive than colored skin. Greater attraction to a skin color does not make the person intolerant of other skin colors, or even mean that they wouldn't date somebody with colored skin. It's the exact same thing as having a preference for hair color - it's something people are born with, and the preference is different for every person.
Another thing is that the having a preference for colored skin wouldn't suddenly be un-bigoted if having a preference for colored skin were bigoted in the first place. It is hypocritical to call people racist for having a preference for white skin but praise the people who prefer colored skin. Everybody is allowed to have preferences. They don't hurt anybody, and don't mean they won't hang out with or date people not in their preference.
Even if a preference is strong enough that a person won't date outside of it, such as with gender or sexuality, this is still not bigoted. A heterosexual sexuality is just as valid as homosexual and they have the right to want to be with somebody of the opposite gender just as a homosexual has the right to want to be with somebody of the same gender. Neither of these preferences are sexist or bigoted. They don't mean the person feels superior for their sexuality or gender, they aren't intolerant of the other gender living their lives the way they want to, and they have the right to live how they want to as well.
Calling preferences bigotry greatly diminishes actual bigotry. There are still racists, and there are still sexists. Saying people are racist for preferring white skin or sexist for preferring a heterosexual relationship makes the actual racism and sexism and bigotry less visible and can make people stop listening when it's actually talked about. If somebody has a preference, it really isn't that big of a deal. Everybody has them, even you.
