When you hear the term “master bedroom” are you offended? Well, for some it harks back to the horrific days of slavery. For others it smacks of sexism. Because of this many real estate agents are dropping the phrase when showing houses. And builders are no longer using the description. Instead some are calling their larger bedroom the “owner’s suite.”
According to Jezebel, a recent survey of 10 major builders in the Washington D.C. area found that when the word “master” immediately precedes the word “bedroom” is loaded with racist and gender-biased connotations.
The Baltimore Journal released a recent report that noted that “master bedroom” is falling out of favor with the next generation of home builders. The word “master has connotation problems, in gender (it skews toward male) and race (the slave-master),” writes the Journal’s Michael Neibauer.
The Journal polled home builders and all “expressed their desire to distance themselves from the troubling origins of ‘master bedroom,’ ” reports Jezebel.
But “owner’s suite” hasn’t become the norm—yet. “The terminology has more of an upscale tone to it, particularly in some of the really large homes that truly have a large bedroom, sitting area, enormous walk-in closets, and lavish bathrooms,” Brian Block, managing broker for McLean, Va.-based RE/Max Allegiance, said in an email to the Journal.
Do you agree, or do you think it is political correctness gone amok?
