Slavery storm sweeps into the bedroom

ESTATE agents are planning to ditch the phrase ‘master bedroom’ for fear it evokes notions of slavery.

Instead, they will use the terms ‘primary’ or ‘principal’ bedroom in an effort to appeal to younger, more socially conscious buyers.

Dozens of firms are thinking of changing their language, with many citing the Black Lives Matter movement as the catalyst.

Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves estate agents in London, said the term ‘does carry historically racist undertones’ and vowed to remove it if it caused offence.

Peter Wetherell, executive chairman of Wetherell in Mayfair, Central London, said the move was driven by ‘political correctness and dramatic transformations in the buyer demographic’. ‘Typical buyers are now aged from their early 20s to mid-40s and from all over the world. This young demographic tends to find any form of racism or sexism deeply offensive,’ he told The Times.

The term has come under scrutiny after the Houston Association of Realtors in the US announced the description ‘master bedroom’ had connotations of slavery and sexism. But a national association in America said there was no reason for agents not to use the term, while the change has been met with resistance in the UK, too.

Trevor Abrahamson, managing director of Glentree International in North London, said: ‘The phrase “master bedroom” wasn’t used until the early 20th Century. If the woke liberal elite want to equate that with slaves and masters, that is ridiculous.’

The row comes after leaked plans revealed that Sky News would no longer allow its sports presenters to use the phrase ‘nitty-gritty’. Some sources believe the term originated from slave traders who used it to refer to the detritus left after a slave ship was emptied, although this is disputed.

On Friday, Twitter announced it was dropping common programming terms such as ‘master’, ‘slave’ and ‘blacklist’ in favour of more inclusive language.