diff --git a/wp-includes/bookmark-template.php b/wp-includes/bookmark-template.php
index c27ce4a31a..0673ffcea3 100644
--- a/wp-includes/bookmark-template.php
+++ b/wp-includes/bookmark-template.php
@@ -209,12 +209,12 @@ function wp_list_bookmarks($args = '') {
 		'category_after' => '</li>'
 	);
 
-	if ( empty( $args['category'] ) )
-		$args['categorize'] = 0;
-
 	$r = wp_parse_args( $args, $defaults );
 	extract( $r, EXTR_SKIP );
 
+	if ( empty( $args['category'] ) )
+		$categorize = 0;
+
 	$output = '';
 
 	if ( $categorize ) {