Rachael Maddow is... GAY? Duh?!

So I'm an avid MSNBC watcher. It's one of the few stations I'll watch. The other nigh, after the President's speech to the house, Rachael made a comment about Gov. Jindal's Hurricane Katrina comments. It struck a cord with me because it was exactly what I was thinking. I then I started thinking, for the first time ever, "Man, I wonder if she's gay?" And then I thought, "Duh! Look at her. She has to be!" And then I thought "Well, that was rather presumptuous. Ill Google her to find out." So I Googled her, and sure enough she is. As a matter of fact she's the first openly gay reporter on any news national news network. Now, I've been watching Rachael's show since it premiered months ago because it comes on right after Olbermann, and I love me some Keith O. And all this time, I mean ALLLL this time, never once did I think about her sexual preference. Is that normal? I mean I catch people all the time doing this when they refer to some one: "You know, black Greg?" or "You know the lesbian Stephanie?" Is that really the best way to refer to someone? By their race or sexuality? I'm not innocent of this but I do strive to find a better way to refer to someone without bringing their race or sexual orientation into the picture because it just seems a bit ignorant to me. I don't know when people will just be people and all ties to said preferences will rot away but I certainly hope that it's sooner than later.