"we do a visual"

Great post at sunny side up on being put in an ethnic box without your knowledge. Being rather pasty, I don't really encounter this issue, but I have always wondered how firms decide to do this stuff, though. Whose idea was "doing a visual"? Why did one D.C. office I know give their one gay male associate a female mentor? Will they "do a visual" for sexual orientation? And if not, how will they ask? I think if HR asked me who I like to sleep with my answer would be "none of your damn business."

Unrelatedly, a reader send me this link to the story of a high school girl who nearly was barred from her graduation ceremony because she wanted to wear slacks instead of a dress. Fortunately, the school district was reasonable and backed down. It reminds me of this post on Prawfsblog about people who practice religion without belief; surely school districts with dress requirements would accommodate someone who thought pants were more modest and in keeping with her religion, so why not just do away with the silly rule and just ask that everyone dress well?