Builders, National Organizations Are Axing the Term 'Master Bedroom'

Several home builders and national organizations have recently switched their terminology from “master bedroom” to “owner’s suite” amid Black Lives Matter protests, which have heightened awareness for terms with underlying racism. But some home builders made the switch years ago, such as PulteGroup, according to MarketWatch. The National Association of Home Builders changed their phrasing to “primary bedroom” and Lennar Corp. switched to “owner’s suite.” Due to the “master suite” being the standard, especially in MLS services, it may take time for sweeping change, but big players are taking initiative.

The real-estate industry has come to a slow decision that took years in the making to stop using the word “master.” The decision came as other industries re-evaluated their use of language in a racial context. GitHub, a Microsoft-owned company MSFT, 0.40% that hosts a platform for software development, announced in July that it would no longer use the terms “master” and “slave” to describe versions of projects. In the photography world, Canon CAJFF, +2.59% also said it would eliminate the terms “master” and “slave” to describe modes on cameras and other devices.

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