According to Minecraft's creator Notch, the game's protagonist, Steve, and all other beings in the game are genderless. Animals were designed to be hermaphrodites (for instance, cows/bulls having both horns and udders) to reinforce this. Notch expressed regret in 2012 for refering the protagonist as "Steve" with masculine pronouns, prefering the "up-and-coming" they/them pronoun. He also joked that no gender existing in Minecraft meant that every animal and character in Minecraft is homosexual "because there's only one gender to choose from. Take THAT, homophobes!" It is unclear if Notch still stands by this, as he has since become an outspoken opponent of gay and transgender identities.