I think that was the intention, but it had unintended consequences. When people described themselves as straight for a long time, their intention certainly was to say "I am a man who prefers people with female genitalia" or "I am a woman who prefers people with male genitalia," but regardless of the intent, it didn't stop many people describing themselves as straight from being attracted to people of their preferred gender without their preferred genitals, or not being attracted to people who were not of their preferred gender but did have their preferred genitals. It just made people who did end up feeling this way less comfortable admitting to themselves that they felt that way. That's why the distinction between gender preference and genital preference is important IMO.