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Microsoft To Release Educational Version of Minecraft (thestack.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Microsoft has announced that it will release an educational version of the Minecraft video game after acquiring the minecraft.edu domain and IP. The classroom version of Minecraft will be offered to schools and educators at a discount, and among other innovations will include the facility to create maps which the students can navigate throughout a lesson while recording their in-game activities. Microsoft has emphasized that it does not intend to change Minecraft into a strictly educational program.
Microsoft is kinda square.
But like many video games, Minecraft is inherently sexist and patriarchal, as all Minecraft player characters are by default male. Moreover, cis white males. While it is possible for children to design skins in order to play as a trans* character, ultimately this restriction in body type is prejudiced against women, people of colour, those with physical disabilities, and those with non-standard body types. The consequences of releasing this product in its current form range from schools experiencing increased incidents of fat shaming, anorexia shaming, racism, rape culture, and suicide.
Microsoft needs to take action on the problematic nature of Minecraft before proceeding any further with this. More consultation with women's rights representatives and minoirity groups is needed before this game can be considered anything other than a reinforcement of the systems of oppression disadvantaged children must endure their entire lives. Our schools must always ensure that their curricula and content supports the fairness and principles of social justice.