'The Sims 4' Free Update Expands Sexual Orientation Options
The Sims is one of the leading gaming franchises when it comes to promoting inclusivity, but there’s always more that can be done. Since its inception, The Sims has always championed same-sex relationships and a recent update finally introduced customisable pronouns to The Sims 4.
In recent years, The Sims 4 developer Maxis has teamed up with the LGBTQ+ organisations It Gets Better Project and GLAAD to see how they can most effectively make their game more inclusive. Well, the latest The Sims 4 update keeps up the good work as it introduces sexual orientation options.
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The changes are a part of the new The Sims 4 High School Years Expansion Pack but some of the pack’s features will be made available to all The Sims 4 players - including the new sexual orientation customisation menu. Players will be able to select if their Sim is attracted to men, women, both, or neither. This will reflect how your Sim responds to romantic advances from other Sims.
Players will also be able to select if they want to explore romantic connections or not, which in essence allows players to create asexual or aromantic Sims. Likewise, you can now decide if your character is willing to participate in ‘WooHoo,’ and whether they wish to do so with men, women, both, or neither. You’re able to edit these options at any time.
You may notice that despite The Sims 4’s recent addition of pronouns, the sexual orientation menu still reflects a very binary understanding of gender. Lead designer on the expansion Jessica Croft has reflected that whilst they hope to add non-binary options further down the line, they’re unable to at this stage due to “technical limitations.” Croft said, “Mechanically, non binary Sims don’t yet exist in The Sims 4. [...] It’s a journey still in progress, with many more steps to go. Proper mechanical systems to fully support non binary Sims is another step in that journey.”