[_xerces_]

I think words like these are also used now as a means of signaling...well.. something about your views or beliefs or group identity.

Reminds me of the politically-correct nonsense in the 90s with *-challenged, like a short person is now vertically-challenged, a bald person is folliclly-challenged or adding *-technician to something like dish-cleansing-technician.

[fiforpg]

Looks like this kind of soft / euphemistic language dates back to even earlier than that. Here is a YT clip of George Carlin railing against it in his 1990 special:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o25I2fzFGoY

[kadoban]

It dates back to one generation after language was invented. And bitching about it dates to one week later.