English isn't my first language, so forgive me in case this is poorly written.

I(29F) was talking to my cousin(30F) at a restaurant and the topic was about dating.

She started asking me questions, including "What type of faces are you attracted to?".

So I mentioned some celebrities as examples. Then I added, while handsome faces are nice, I prioritize height over face and that I'd rather date a tall guy with an "ugly" face than an average height/short man (for my country's standards) with a "gorgeous" face.

She responded, "Don't embarrass me by saying such a bigoted thing in public!", and that I sound shallow & cocky. I don't see why it's OK to have a preference for faces but not height. I also don't get why she got so defensive when it was her who brought up the topic of our tastes of men. My only guess is that her bf is short and she's insecure about it.

How can I be TAH?