For example, the word “niggardly” has no etymological connection to racism or to any of the ethnic slurs cognate with the Latin word niger. But it’s nonetheless become somewhat disfavored, simply because so many trolls and assholes used the word deliberately, hoping to “innocently” shock or offend people who mistook it for a slur.
Similarly, although AFAICT the term “master bedroom” never had any direct connection with “master” in the sense of “enslaver” of Black people, it does seem to be explicitly derived from the status distinction between “masters” and (employed) “servants” (of whatever race). A house in the early 20th century, about the time the term appears to have originated, would have “servant’s bedrooms” and a “master bedroom”.
Since employers of household staff aren’t generally designated “master” or “mistress” anymore, and the staff themselves are not usually designated “servants”, both those terms come across as somewhat obsolete. (Not to mention the fact that most household staff don’t even reside anymore in the houses where they work.)
“Main bedroom” or “primary bedroom”, as others have pointed out, are perfectly adequate synonyms with no connotations of asserting the occupant’s dominant status with respect to household workers.
As pulykamell pointed out in the post before yours, the recent thread that he linked already went over all this ground. To summarize, concerning your specific queries:
Using “Master” as an honorific for a boy younger than ten or so has been pretty archaic for quite a while. Young children are generally just addressed by their names.
Actually most people nowadays, AFAICT, if they don’t follow the widespread use of parent-child terminology for pet owners and their pets, refer to the pet’s “owner” or “human” rather than its “master” or “mistress”. (Personally, I favor the Dutch term baasje, “(little) boss”. The word baas seems to aspirationally proclaim the human’s dominance and control over the pet, while the slightly patronizing diminutive form punctures that assertion of superiority. )
No, AFAIK “Master” as a family and/or brand proper noun is not regarded as objectionable.
No, having “mastery” over a skill, or over the forces of nature if you happen to be a wizard, or over any other abstract and/or inanimate concept is fine. What’s considered distasteful are terms implying mastership over fellow human beings.
Yet. Proscribed language changes pile on top of more proscribed language changes pile on more proscribed language changes. The water continues to get warmer while the frog keeps getting told that he is unreasonable to be bothered by it.
Personally I appreciate it when someone tells me if the words I use have unintended connotations. Of course most folks mean no harm when referring to a “master” bedroom. But perhaps understanding how ugly the word is in historical context can lead to the respectfully choosing an alternate adjective.
I think the controversy is silly. “Master bedroom” does not, and never has, had anything to do with slavery. As others have noted, the word “master” is used in many other contexts that have nothing to do with slavery.
Here in San Francisco they’re talking about renaming Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park because it was named for a 19th century politician, William W. Stow (1824-1895) who was anti-Semitic and a xenophobe. Well, guess what - those types of prejudices were not uncommon in those days. This doesn’t justify or excuse prejudice, but what’s the point of renaming a lake when no one remembers or cares who Mr. Stow was, let alone finds offense in a lake named for some obscure character who died 127 years ago?
Language evolves. I think the whole thing is rather silly, but I’m not going to draw a line in the sand or get upset if younger people start using primary or main instead of master. I’ll keep calling it the master bedroom/bath and I’m sure I can count on others not to draw a line in the sand and get upset that I used that particular word.
Do you know that? Or just guessing? Do you have quality market research to share?
I know not zero. My friend who is a realtor has run into clients reacting with distaste and on the sell side has strong advice to avoid. Urban and near city suburban market.
When we were buying a bit more than a year ago the phrase “master” was the uncommon one in the descriptions and called attention to itself. Usually it was “primary” or “main”. I eye rolled at first but after a few weeks of looking “master” began to sound archaic.
language evolves. Just 'cus it wasn’t considered offensive when you were younger, doesn’t mean that it has evolved to something that more than someone looking to be outraged finds it at best odd, and worst offensive.
“Oriental” is one that I had to learn. Christ, I have a degree in Oriental Languages. But some folks think it is racist these days. I don’t get it as if one wanted to use racist words, Oriental isn’t even on my list (and my father was both a Pacific Theater and Korean War combat vet, and let’s just say “oriental” wasn’t his go to wording).
But I came to realize no matter how silly I think Oriental is a rug, for some people it’s the hill they want to be martyered on. Miss Manners (can I write “Miss Manners” or is that gonna get someone’s panties in a twist these days???), would say use neutral words acceptable by all instead of insisting that a word doesn’t mean what other people understand it to mean. Whatever. Life is short and it’s no skin of my nads to go with the neutral term. Primary bedroom it is. YMMV
It is just the use of the term “master” in a way that implies some person being above another person cannot escape the baggage of the history of that word. It does not matter whether master bedroom itself ever referred to slavery.
And I believe anti-semitism and xenophobia should not have a statute of limitations. Our character flaws should not be wiped away by time any more than our honorable achievements.
In most of the U.S., that’s where the big sort put Democrats. I live easy walking distance to Philadelphia. When I moved here in 1982, the neighborhood was Republican enough that the local commissioner had been GOP for as long as any one could remember. In 2020, the three precincts of our district went for Biden 82 percent, 83 percent, and 84 percent. If we don’t have master bedrooms any more, that would explain it. The Republicans moved out, or, in my case, changed registration.
Go out 30 miles from Philadelphia, and your neighbor flying the confederate flag may change the priority of the master bedroom thing.
If the word ‘master’ bothers people outside of any offensive context then they should be equally bothered by all other uses of the word. If they aren’t then it is clearly not a sincerely held belief.
Well, “master” has fallen out of favor in other spheres (though those are usually paired with “slave” as in “master-slave” relationships with hard-drives or such tech terminology.) Like I said in my first reply, there’s a whole 200+ post thread that has already hashed much of this out.
I don’t think it is about “sincerely held belief” about the word itself. It’s instead about empathy towards others who are offended or simply made uncomfortable by the word, and understanding that the words we use often carry meanings outside of the context we intend. Thus out of respect we choose our words carefully and acknowledge and try to understand when someone explains why they heard our words in ways we did not mean to convey.
I have a book called “Masters of Impressionism”. What does that tell you about the acceptability of the specific phrase, “master bedroom”? Absolutely nothing. I cannot tell you anything authoritative about it because I do not work in architecture. What you need to do is follow what other people in the industry are writing, and that way your terminology will not stand out one way or the other. If it does happens to connote some kind of racist stuff or is a Nazi code word then surely someone will know. I can tell you that “master” by itself comes from Latin where it does not mean anything bad, but this may not be much help.
It’s the connection to racism that seems strained to me.
After all, throughout history, the usual situation was to have masters and slaves to be of the same race. Even during the main period of North American slave-holding, there were arguably more black slaves held by black masters than white masters in the world.
Master has more than one definition. The definition used in master bedroom refers to a person who has complete authority over other people; it’s where the master sleeps. A master of science or arts or tying knots is simply someone who has mastered a skill. Modern living arrangements and more (small d) democratic family dynamics make the term, at the very least, obsolete.
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