Notch: Minecraft is Full of Hermaphrodites

[The Wooster]

Notch: Minecraft is Full of Hermaphrodites

Minecraft's Steve isn't a guy, nor a woman. He/she is also gay.

How women are represented in games is a hot topic as of late, but perhaps a more pressing issue is why, sometimes, they're not represented at all. Minecraft creator and former lead developer, Markus "Notch" Persson, has decided to weigh in, and explain why there're no boobs in Minecraft.

"If it wasn't for the fact that the default Minecraft character is referred to as 'Minecraft Guy' and that I once jokingly answered 'Steve?' when asked what his* name was, Minecraft would be a game where gender isn't a gameplay element," he wrote on his blog.

The traditional feminist response to that argument is that having the central character display traits of masculinity and then arguing that he is "genderless," perpetuates the idea that males are the "base" gender and that females are an exception or a permutation.

"The human model is intended to represent a Human Being," Notch continued. "Not a male Human Being or a female Human Being, but simply a Human Being. The blocky shape gives it a bit of a traditional masculine look, but adding a separate female mesh would just make it worse by having one specific model for female Human Beings and male ones. That would force players to make a decisions about gender in a game where gender doesn't even exist."

The game's no-gender, or perhaps pansexual, policy even extends to the various other creatures inhabiting the universe. Notch points out that all the animals in the game have both male and female characteristics. The cows for example, have both horns and udders. He also notes that every animal can breed with any other member of its species.

"Obviously, I'm not saying this is a good way to deal with gender in all games, as the better your graphics are, and because of how quickly the human mind tries to identify the gender of other humans, you are going to have to make a decision as a developer about gender, but I felt we could get away with it in Minecraft," he added.

Notch concluded the post with an apology for using gendered pronouns - hence the little asterisk in that first quote - and a charming little barb aimed at bigots.

"Also, as a fun side fact, it means every character and animal in Minecraft is homosexual because there's only one gender to choose from," he wrote. "Take THAT, homophobes!"

Source: The Word of Notch [http://notch.tumblr.com/post/28188312756/gender-in-minecraft]


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[targren]

I could never get into Minecraft (what's the point? I hollowed out a mountain and made a dwarven fortress using nothing more than stone. What now?) but that gave me a chuckle. Well played, Notch.

Now, about Psychonauts 2...?

 

[kouriichi]

I could never get into Minecraft (what's the point? I hollowed out a mountain and made a dwarven fortress using nothing more than stone. What now?) but that gave me a chuckle. Well played, Notch.

Now, about Psychonauts 2...?

Well the best way ive heard, and have come to describe it myself is, "Electronic Legos". If you enjoy building structures, creating ideas and putting things together, minecraft is for you. But even then, its far more then that. If you enjoy PvP, you could join an arena server, or a Hunger Games server. If you like carefree building, just jump in creative mode and throw together a replica of the starship Enterprise. Minecraft is said to be a sand box, but i think its more then that, minecraft is what you make of it, through experiences, mods, and just simply, the way you enjoy it. I enjoy creative servers the most myself!

OT: So Steve is just "Mankind" as a whole then, in both the literal and metaphorical sense. Being the only "Human" in the world (unless your in multiplayer) and being of both genders (or neither as it were) you are the entirety of your kind. Thats pretty deep Notch! Not as deep as your pockets, but thats another story for another time....

 

[Paradoxrifts]

The dark patch players have always assumed as being Steve's nose is in actual fact, a vagina.

Steve is very self conscious about it.

 

[targren]

Well the best way ive heard, and have come to describe it myself is, "Electronic Legos". If you enjoy building structures, creating ideas and putting things together, minecraft is for you. But even then, its far more then that. If you enjoy PvP, you could join an arena server, or a Hunger Games server. If you like carefree building, just jump in creative mode and throw together a replica of the starship Enterprise. Minecraft is said to be a sand box, but i think its more then that, minecraft is what you make of it, through experiences, mods, and just simply, the way you enjoy it. I enjoy creative servers the most myself!

Since I'm not really all that fond of, you know... "other people" I play on a "locally hosted, firewalled from the internet" server.

Maybe I should reconfigure it for creative mode, but I don't really mind the monsters. What really irks me is the fact that I can't find anything other than dirt, cobblestone, and some coal and gravel. Yay. I have more torches on hand than any Transylvanian peasant mob, but... meh.

That, and it feels kind of like cheating to have to look on the wiki for "recipes"... I think that's my biggest turn-off, actually.

 

[Harbinger_]

So if gender isn't a gameplay element then how come every creature is allegedly gay. And yet animals can breed......

 

[Twilight_guy]

I'm sorry to tell you this Notch but the idea of 'male as default' is a serious issue and one you can't skirt around by saying 'feminist argument' and 'represents a human being'. You can take no side and wash your hands of it, but its not something you can not be involved in, even if you don't want to be. It's like racism in that no matter what color your character is, someone will cry racism just because he is some color. The only escape is to create something distinctly non-human, like a green skinned alien.

 

[Something Amyss]

I'm sorry to tell you this Notch but the idea of 'male as default' is a serious issue and one you can't skirt around by saying 'feminist argument' and 'represents a human being'.

He can.

Notch is in his own little echo chamber, and can say what he wants and will be greeted with applause and offers of fellatio.

The Escapist has a pavlovian response to the "f" word (and the "g" word), so I'm pretty sure they're going to side with him just because ZOMG FEMINAZIS!

Within the gaming sphere, if I can use that term, this shit is so hated that he's going to get applauded.

Also, as someone outside the gender norm, it comes off as incredibly dickish, but maybe that's just me.

 

[kouriichi]

Well the best way ive heard, and have come to describe it myself is, "Electronic Legos". If you enjoy building structures, creating ideas and putting things together, minecraft is for you. But even then, its far more then that. If you enjoy PvP, you could join an arena server, or a Hunger Games server. If you like carefree building, just jump in creative mode and throw together a replica of the starship Enterprise. Minecraft is said to be a sand box, but i think its more then that, minecraft is what you make of it, through experiences, mods, and just simply, the way you enjoy it. I enjoy creative servers the most myself!

Since I'm not really all that fond of, you know... "other people" I play on a "locally hosted, firewalled from the internet" server.

Maybe I should reconfigure it for creative mode, but I don't really mind the monsters. What really irks me is the fact that I can't find anything other than dirt, cobblestone, and some coal and gravel. Yay. I have more torches on hand than any Transylvanian peasant mob, but... meh.

That, and it feels kind of like cheating to have to look on the wiki for "recipes"... I think that's my biggest turn-off, actually.

Well of course you can put smooth stone together to create stone bricks, which in my opinion look far better for most projects! Theres also all the different shades of wood (and with the upcoming 1.3, they can be placed in all directions for even more visual presentations), all the nether materials, the End stone, sand and all the versions of sandstone, obsidian, bricks, mycelium if you find a mushroom biome and have a tool with the silk touch enchantment, and even blocks of solid ore if you like having a nice gawdy palace!

But i know what you mean about looking at the wiki. Ive been playing minecraft since doors were first added (which makes me feel old saying it) and ive always loathed having to look at the wiki. But all you really have to do is explore, test and find what you like. There are.... 90 something blocks to choose from? Your choice is really only designed by your ability to collect and craft.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Well Notch, it definitely worked on me, because I never even considered pinning genders on the entities of Minecraft.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

I'm sorry to tell you this Notch but the idea of 'male as default' is a serious issue and one you can't skirt around by saying 'feminist argument' and 'represents a human being'. You can take no side and wash your hands of it, but its not something you can not be involved in, even if you don't want to be. It's like racism in that no matter what color your character is, someone will cry racism just because he is some color. The only escape is to create something distinctly non-human, like a green skinned alien.

Look.

Back in the days, practically Once Upon A Time, there were real, genuine feminists. Take, for example, the Suffragettes - Women standing their ground to establish women's rights to vote. A very real struggle with a well-defined, real-world aim that served women in a modern society, as well as society as a whole. That's also why the Suffragettes were made up of women of all sorts of political stances, because they were united in their goal. That's pretty rare these days, innit.

The currently rampant BS out in the wild may be labelled "feminism", but it's really only a spin-off project of Communism, which might also employ rebranded diet/light versions like Socialism or Marxism. Ooh, politics! Well, you should be aware of the fact that feminism is but a political crowbar in gift wrap these days.

Its purpose is to mess with people's heads, it only serves to make everyone as unhappy and costly as possible, and it only serves the one purpose to help 'transform', cause chaos and help bring along destabilization of everything not yet ready for the scripted revolution.

So, I stopped playing Minecraft as I consider it a complete waste of time (I've also stopped playing with LEGO some decades ago), but if the kids want to prefer playing virtual LEGO in Minecraft to building something "real" with plastic bricks, hey, who am I to judge? Notch keeps politics out of Minecraft, and the simplified world of Minecraft ain't that bad, methinks.

Also, in reality, the default of all of us is, in fact, the female archetype. Being male is pretty much only a mutation of the female, a hairier, bulkier version carrying its reproductive organs on the outside of the body, so we can adore wieners and so the sperm - as in little squiggly things carrying the stuff we're all made of, including the XXs and XYs - doesn't get too hot. It's all very basic, but it makes us humble brothers and sisters of cats and dogs and bovines and marsupials and snakes and turtles and whatnot. Not slugs, as they are the slimy SM troopers of the animal world, impaling each other with spears while doing it, the dirty little things.

 

[mad825]

This has been going far too long. Who the fuck cares!?

Mine this, kill that, mine this some more and build something. At what point does sex/gender come into play? The graphics are god awful so sex identification is almost imposable to distinguish.

Also, in reality, the default of all of us is, in fact, the female archetype. Being male is pretty much only a mutation of the female, a hairier, bulkier version carrying its reproductive organs on the outside of the body, so we can adore wieners and so the sperm - as in little squiggly things carrying the stuff we're all made of, including the XXs and XYs - doesn't get too hot. It's all very basic, but it makes us humble brothers and sisters of cats and dogs and bovines and marsupials and snakes and turtles and whatnot. Not slugs, as they are the slimy SM troopers of the animal world, impaling each other with spears while doing it, the dirty little things.

Good try but no.
The "default value" is moot when were not an asexual species. Regardless, both sexes features traits of the opposite sex.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

This has been going far too long. Who the fuck cares!?

Mine this, kill that, mine this some more and build something. At what point does sex/gender come into play? The graphics are god awful so sex identification is almost imposable to distinguish.

Also, in reality, the default of all of us is, in fact, the female archetype. Being male is pretty much only a mutation of the female, a hairier, bulkier version carrying its reproductive organs on the outside of the body, so we can adore wieners and so the sperm - as in little squiggly things carrying the stuff we're all made of, including the XXs and XYs - doesn't get too hot. It's all very basic, but it makes us humble brothers and sisters of cats and dogs and bovines and marsupials and snakes and turtles and whatnot. Not slugs, as they are the slimy SM troopers of the animal world, impaling each other with spears while doing it, the dirty little things.

Good try but no.
The "default value" is moot when were not an asexual species. Regardless, both sexes features traits of the opposite sex.

This is an argument you best have with yourself for a while.

 

[mad825]

This is an argument you best have with yourself for a while.

Personal insults? I never knew you could stoop so low.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

This is an argument you best have with yourself for a while.

Personal insults? I never knew you could stoop so low.

Merely a factual statement and a sincerely felt proper response. There's emotions involved so I censored out the passive-aggressive bits, since they do not contribute anything to the discussion and would probably get me banned... from this planet.

 

[JaceArveduin]

I thought genders were pointless in Minecraft because of how stupidly easy it is to change your skin. You can make your avatar damn near anything you can think of, and a few things you didn't.

 

[iniudan]

I'm sorry to tell you this Notch but the idea of 'male as default' is a serious issue and one you can't skirt around by saying 'feminist argument' and 'represents a human being'. You can take no side and wash your hands of it, but its not something you can not be involved in, even if you don't want to be. It's like racism in that no matter what color your character is, someone will cry racism just because he is some color. The only escape is to create something distinctly non-human, like a green skinned alien.

Yes you can actually, that form it one that is close to the shape of a kid body, you know at an age where you can hardly identify the sex of a kid, if their are not naked, without cultural marker.

The thing is that it is mostly male that happen to keep a similar body shape at adult age, thus why the asexual model might annoy some of the overzealous feminist, for they only see "man has default", while what you should see is simply a representation of human body before puberty hit.

 

[drthmik]

wouldn't a lack of specific gender make everything in Minecraft Asexual rather than Homosexual?
like Sponges

... Sponges... in Minecraft...

 

[Doclector]

I guess, trying to make a female character in minecraft using anything other than a skin would just look silly, perhaps even insulting. Seriously picture that. What would they do? Give it block boobs? A little block skirt? It'd look ridiculous, and ironically, it seems the only ways to solve such a problem would be even more insulting that not tackling the problem at all.

And hermaphodites...well played notch. Well played.