I read today that the Houston Association of Realtors is eliminating the phrases “master bedroom” and “master bathroom” from real estate listings because of the slavery connotations of the word “master.”

During this time of greater awareness of language, the origins of particular words, and how language shapes shapes culture, I applaud this move.

Culture is influenced by shared experiences, environment, and history. Language is created and shaped by the needs of a culture as it changes.

In place of “Master”, the use of “Primary” could be used, or, simply bedroom.

One only needs to look at the dimensions of a bedroom to determine which one would be the one for the adults and which would be the one(s) for the children or to be used as the home office.

I encourage my fellow REALTORS® to follow Houston’s example. I will be making this change starting today.