# Is it racist to use the term 'Master Bedroom' **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 21, 2022, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613 "2022-10-21T22:47:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/81 "2022-10-22T18:19:53Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > and we’re to believe this had something to do with slavery or racism? This is not the argument that most people are making. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/82 "2022-10-22T18:24:58Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Some seem to thrive on being offended, and only get their hackles up when instructed to do so. And some people seem to think if they’re not offended, nobody else should be either. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/83 "2022-10-22T18:25:10Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > his is not the argument that most people are making. Is it not? > **[The Biggest Bedroom Is No Longer a ‘Master’ (Published 2020)](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/realestate/master-bedroom-change.html)** > > The term’s racist and sexist undertones lead New York’s real estate community and others to rethink outdated industry jargon. Or, from the OP: “So I was surprised yesterday when an associate told me the term was racist.” ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/84 "2022-10-22T18:26:18Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > > Some seem to thrive on being offended, and only get their hackles up when instructed to do so. > > And some people seem to think if they’re not offended, nobody else should be either. Both can be true. mmm ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/85 "2022-10-22T18:27:44Z")
I try to err on side of not offending. I don’t care if _I’m_ not offended. What does that matter? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/86 "2022-10-22T18:28:40Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Is it not? Yes, it is not. “Racist and sexist undertones” does not mean that the principal claim is that the original usage was created with a connotation that “had something to do with slavery and racism.” There is a general argument being made about the appropriateness of the use of the term “master bedroom.” That some individual person might summarize that idea as “the term is racist” doesn’t mean that (1) that is the actual issue at hand, and (2) everyone must defend that specific statement. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/87 "2022-10-22T18:30:26Z")
I see. So it is racist but has nothing to do with racism. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/88 "2022-10-22T18:32:37Z")
A term can have racist undertones without having been created directly as the result of racist intentions. But you know that. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/89 "2022-10-22T18:34:31Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > There is a general argument being made about the appropriateness of the use of the term “master bedroom.” That some individual person might summarize that idea as “the term is racist” doesn’t mean that (1) that is the actual issue at hand, and (2) everyone must defend that specific statement. There are several arguments being made in this thread. The one in the OP, and the one that started this as a national discussion involve racism specifically–not just “appropriateness”. If you have an argument for how the term “master” can somehow be racist in a way that does not stem from slavery, I’d love to hear it. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/90 "2022-10-22T18:39:17Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > A term can have racist undertones without having been created directly as the result of racist intentions. We’re not talking about terms in general. We are talking about a specific term: “master bedroom”. There is no racist undertone in that term because the word there is not a noun, it is an adjective. When used as an adjective, it means “primary or main”, it doesn’t mean “the ruling or controlling bedroom” to which all the other bedrooms are subordinate" It doesn’t mean “controlling or overcoming” the other bedrooms. There are no racist undertones there. It also never meant “master of the house’s bedroom”, which could possibly have both racist and sexist undertones. But that’s not the origin. It was never the “master’s bedroom”. It’s not “where the master sleeps” and it never was (until recently, apparently). ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/91 "2022-10-22T18:43:25Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Reread **Bear\_Nenno’s** post: “. . .main; principal”, hence master (or main) bedroom. Almost anywhere you see that definition, “master bedroom” is used as the example. It has evolved to mean “main; principal” because the original definition is so antiquated. When Sears coined the phrase, they meant “where the master sleeps”. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/92 "2022-10-22T18:44:48Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > When Sears coined the phrase, they meant “where the master sleeps”. Do you have a cite for this? Or is it speculation? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/93 "2022-10-22T18:49:42Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > It has evolved to mean “main; principal” because the original definition is so antiquated. Wrong. In the phrase “master plan”, the word is used the exact same way as “master bedroom” is used now. You think this is because the word evolved to mean “main or principal”, but the first record use of the term “master plan” was 1925. That’s a year before “master bedroom”. That’s not evolution. That’s precedence. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/94 "2022-10-22T18:49:44Z")
I don’t think using the term “master bedroom” is racist. I think if a speaker uses words they know may carry racial undertones and does not care that their words may carry racial undertones then this reflects poorly on the speaker and can indicate that the speaker thinks racism is not that big a deal or that the speaker does not care what others think. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/95 "2022-10-22T18:53:46Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > I think if a speaker uses words they know may carry racial undertones and does not care that their words may carry racial undertones then this reflects poorly on the speaker and can indicate that the speaker thinks racism is not that big a deal or that the speaker does not care what others think. Certainly, and I’m not arguing against that view. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/96 "2022-10-22T18:54:05Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > > > When Sears coined the phrase, they meant “where the master sleeps”. > > Do you have a cite for this? Or is it speculation? Second column, first paragraph (note the apostrophe): [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/1538/25105796014_abd3a84740_b.jpg "1926 Sears Special Supplement::Glen Falls Floorplan") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/daily-bungalow/25105796014) ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/97 "2022-10-22T18:56:19Z")
Well fuck me. I concede the point. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/98 "2022-10-22T18:59:52Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > What bothers me directly is when someone makes a reference about something in my life that denigrates or lessens me. Careful, “denigrate” is probably on somebody’s “words that have to be purged” list. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/99 "2022-10-22T19:06:22Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Well fuck me. I concede the point. Thank you. To be fair, I didn’t have that in my back pocket. I was sweating bullets looking for that catalog page. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613/100 "2022-10-22T19:13:52Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Careful, “denigrate” is probably on somebody’s “words that have to be purged” list. And if someone explains to me why a word or phrase that I meant to use innocently has negative connotations to others then I will try and understand and if necessary adopt better language. In my own personal life I had a close friend years ago explain to me directly why my casual use of “oriental” was a poor choice of words and I am glad they did. I always hope to be a better person. My wife tells me she was schooled years ago on saying something was “retarded.” Fair enough. I’d rather be told the negative connotations of my words than allow them to stand without response. Then I have a choice beyond ignorance as to how my words might be interpreted in the future. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-racist-to-use-the-term-master-bedroom/973613.md?page=6)