Increasingly more homebuilders in the Washington area are ditching the term “master bedroom” for the more politically correct “owner’s bedroom.”

“I imagine it’s not only a more accurate description but also a more politically correct term of art,” said Steve Nardella, senior vice president of operations for Bethesda-based Winchester Homes Inc.

The Washington Business Journal reports that the reason homebuilders are scrapping the term is that “master” can have either dominant male or slaveowner connotations.

Randy Creaser, owner of Creaser/O’Brien Architects PC in Washington, said he stopped using the term years ago. He told the Business Journal that a few lawsuits were brought against builders over the phrase.

Lorraine Arora, vice president and managing broker of two Long & Foster Real Estate Inc. in Springfield and Kingstowne, Va., told the paper that older brokers tend to stick with “master,” while the younger agents “want to be more politically correct.” She said her office is split between the two terms.

Six of 10 major homebuilders in the Washington area do not use “master” in their floor plans, and Grant Johnson of Sekas Homes said it will eventually be filtered out completely.

The change is “just working through the industry, and finally, bingo, we got it,” he told the paper.

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