Notch carved out one of the biggest success stories in gaming history after introducing the world to Minecraft, but since he retired from his game development studio Mojang, he’s busied himself with being a prolific Twitter user. While he’s always been something of a divisive figure on the social network – though that description could be applied to virtually every well-known tweeter – his latest comments on the topic of “mansplaining” have garnered a great deal of criticism, and with good reason.
“Mansplaining,” a term used to describe an instance in which a man explains something to a woman in a patronizing or condescending manner, had its definition (which is established in the Oxford Dictionary, by the way) questioned by Notch, who replied to a tweet from German game designer Jennifer Scheurle to say that it is actually “designed to silence men via gender shaming.”
@Gaohmee No, mansplaining is a sexist term designed to silence men via gender shaming.
— Markus Persson (@notch) May 21, 2016
While Notch was accused of mansplaining the term mansplaining here, it was his following comments that raised the most eyebrows, in which he coined a female equivalent for mansplaining, which he titled “cuntfusing.”
Stop #cuntfusing the issue by dismissing my words with a derogatory term about my gender. https://t.co/F9iKyLVY0k
— Markus Persson (@notch) May 22, 2016
Considering that the the portion of “mansplaining” used to infer that the term is only applicable to men is, err, “man,” Notch’s comparative term for the female equivalent of mansplainers being “cunt” is thoroughly indefensible. He then went on to insult another woman using the same word – though with the added caveat that she insulted him first – essentially turning his own personal corner on the Internet into a tire fire of women being met with the newly coined “#cuntfusing” hashtag.
@idlediletante @CranBoonitz and you’re a cunt.
— Markus Persson (@notch) May 22, 2016
Minecraft is going to continue to be a massive success no matter how Notch conducts himself online, and so it should. A creator also shouldn’t be beholden to their creation – saying that Notch should behave in a certain manner because he created a game we all like, and we therefore don’t want him to somehow retroactively sully that game by spouting damaging opinions from his position of influence – isn’t our call to make. However, it is undoubtedly disappointing to watch a man responsible for the beautiful, infinitely imaginative Minecraft essentially act as a high-profile conduit for some of the more aggressive and vile people on the Internet. It’s hardly surprising that, given his 3.75 million followers on Twitter, “#cuntfusing” is now doing the rounds online and is being banded about by staunch anti-feminists and assorted sexists, giving them a buzzword to add to their lexicon alongside the overplayed “feminazi.”
All this, and Notch thinks that he is “trying to make things better.” How he believes that things will become better by adding an inordinate amount of fuel to an already burning fire, all from the warmth of his Beverly Hills mansion, is questionable to say the least.
@pat_makhoul I am trying to make things better. You might not agree with me, however. That’s fine. Don’t insult me over it.
— Markus Persson (@notch) May 22, 2016
People shouldn’t automatically be deemed “role models” by virtue of them having added something good into the world. Though Minecraft is a game beloved by children across the globe, Notch doesn’t need to behave in a certain manner, and certainly doesn’t need to be a role model. If this is who he is, and these are the opinions he wants to share online, then it’s his right to do so.
However, parents whose kids have been inspired by Minecraft, and who as a result of playing it wish to make their first steps into programming, would have very good reason to not want to acknowledge the otherwise inspiring story of Markus “Notch” Persson, the man who created their favorite game but who now calls women cunts on Twitter. That’s a damn shame.
