I love your gender options and I love making my non-binary and trans sims, but I would really like if sims could have some extra pronoun options. Especially since I don't know many non-binary people who use just she/her or he/him pronouns. I use they/them and he/him depending on my gender fluid days.If they/them could be added into the game that would be amazing. If the game devs wanted to take it a step further there could be a fill-in box for special pronouns. I know there are some less common ones that enby people use such as ze/zir or ze/zim (I had to look these up but I know there are a lot more than just that)Anyway I'd just love it if my sim could have they/them pronouns because to be honest seeing chat boxes telling me about my sim-self's latest adventures with she/her pronouns kind of stingsEDIT: I realize I never mentioned how I thought this idea should be done when I suggested it. I think (in CAS specifically, when creating a sim or when doing a cas.fulledit mode) having a "check a box" style pronoun choice is an ideal way to do it. Putting it in the same menu with all the other gender identities such as body type and ability to get pregnant would be the ideal way to do it. Yes, changing the text boxes would be a lot of work, so maybe it's not realistic but I have yet to see a thread suggesting it, so I thought I would put it out there. If the devs don't know a change can be made or how it can be made, then obviously they have no way to make that change. Somebody had to suggest it, and I thought why not me.Thank you to the people who have been positive towards the suggestion and giving positive feedback

Can't speak for other languages, but English has the pronoun 'it' which while used mainly for inanimate objects can also be used in reference to young children, as in, 'help the child form letters by taking its hand and forming them' (from a British source). Perhaps that would work since sims aren't living beings, they need all the help they can get, and we are spared looking for words nobody but a select few would understand.

"Oldeseadogge;c-17016497" wrote:Can't speak for other languages, but English has the pronoun 'it' which while used mainly for inanimate objects can also be used in reference to young children, as in, 'help the child form letters by taking its hand and forming them' (from a British source). Perhaps that would work since sims aren't living beings, they need all the help they can get, and we are spared looking for words nobody but a select few would understand.It isn't the same thing as he/him their/them

This would be nice to have, but oh my god the amount of files that would have to be modified is colossal. Any text string containing a he/her choice would need to be altered, and that would be a massive undertaking. It's sadly not as easy as just ticking a box.

This isn't something I personally need, but I certainly wouldn't mind it being added as I'm sure it would really mean a lot to many players. Anything that makes our sims more distinctive and the game more inclusive is always welcome. Plus it would be optional, so everyone can be happy. I'm also really glad how versatile the gender options are in TS4 now. Gender is such a complex thing though that I'm unsure it can ever be done 'perfectly'. I've been doing some research into it in an effort to understand better and I still feel ignorant. I don't think I could refer to my sims as 'it' though - I know they're not alive and it is just a word like any other, but they're like my babies so it just feels wrong to me. :D Perhaps for simplicity sims can just be referred to by their name rather than adding pronouns? I think my sims usually are anyway.

The game mostly avoids using pronouns - generally, it uses names - but there are times when using the name would be too repetitive. It's a bit of a sticky wicket in English - we can use 'they' and 'their' in some contexts (and yes, it's perfectly correct English), but in others, it doesn't sound quite right. I think, however, that in most cases, it's perfectly clear that 'they' would be referring to a particular Sim, not a group of Sims.If I see 'Kate just caught a new fish! Check their inventory!', I would understand 'their' as a pronoun substituted for 'her' or 'his' to avoid identifying Kate as male or female. I think I'd find it less awkward to read than 's/he' or 'her/his', and 'their' is actually more gender-neutral, inclusive of people who think of themselves as neither or both.At the same time, you've got Sims in many languages, and I agree with kwanzaabot - it would require a lot of editing. It's not just a simple substitution - in English, it would also affect the verb - you can't say 'they is', even if you're referring to one person. 'He is' has to change to 'They are'. In other languages, you have to find a similar convention, and it gets more tricky when adjective endings have to match. (And let's not even get started on inflected languages.) On the other hand, some languages are easier - in French, a possessive pronoun matches the thing, not the possessor.Probably something to think about for Sims 5 - it's the sort of thing that needs to be done from the start.

New Pronoun Options Please | EA Forums

OldeSimsFan
Rising Rookie
6 years ago
Can't speak for other languages, but English has the pronoun 'it' which while used mainly for inanimate objects can also be used in reference to young children, as in, 'help the child form letters by taking its hand and forming them' (from a British source). Perhaps that would work since sims aren't living beings, they need all the help they can get, and we are spared looking for words nobody but a select few would understand.
Madamelee
Seasoned Novice
6 years ago
"Oldeseadogge;c-17016497" wrote:
Can't speak for other languages, but English has the pronoun 'it' which while used mainly for inanimate objects can also be used in reference to young children, as in, 'help the child form letters by taking its hand and forming them' (from a British source). Perhaps that would work since sims aren't living beings, they need all the help they can get, and we are spared looking for words nobody but a select few would understand.

It isn't the same thing as he/him their/them
kwanzaabot
6 years ago
This would be nice to have, but oh my god the amount of files that would have to be modified is colossal. Any text string containing a he/her choice would need to be altered, and that would be a massive undertaking. It's sadly not as easy as just ticking a box.
annaliese39
New Spectator
6 years ago
This isn't something I personally need, but I certainly wouldn't mind it being added as I'm sure it would really mean a lot to many players. Anything that makes our sims more distinctive and the game more inclusive is always welcome. Plus it would be optional, so everyone can be happy. I'm also really glad how versatile the gender options are in TS4 now. Gender is such a complex thing though that I'm unsure it can ever be done 'perfectly'. I've been doing some research into it in an effort to understand better and I still feel ignorant. I don't think I could refer to my sims as 'it' though - I know they're not alive and it is just a word like any other, but they're like my babies so it just feels wrong to me. :D Perhaps for simplicity sims can just be referred to by their name rather than adding pronouns? I think my sims usually are anyway.
invisiblgirl
6 years ago
The game mostly avoids using pronouns - generally, it uses names - but there are times when using the name would be too repetitive. It's a bit of a sticky wicket in English - we can use 'they' and 'their' in some contexts (and yes, it's perfectly correct English), but in others, it doesn't sound quite right. I think, however, that in most cases, it's perfectly clear that 'they' would be referring to a particular Sim, not a group of Sims.

If I see 'Kate just caught a new fish! Check their inventory!', I would understand 'their' as a pronoun substituted for 'her' or 'his' to avoid identifying Kate as male or female. I think I'd find it less awkward to read than 's/he' or 'her/his', and 'their' is actually more gender-neutral, inclusive of people who think of themselves as neither or both.

At the same time, you've got Sims in many languages, and I agree with kwanzaabot - it would require a lot of editing. It's not just a simple substitution - in English, it would also affect the verb - you can't say 'they is', even if you're referring to one person. 'He is' has to change to 'They are'. In other languages, you have to find a similar convention, and it gets more tricky when adjective endings have to match. (And let's not even get started on inflected languages.) On the other hand, some languages are easier - in French, a possessive pronoun matches the thing, not the possessor.

Probably something to think about for Sims 5 - it's the sort of thing that needs to be done from the start.
Cinebar
6 years ago
I'm a bit confused. I thought if I transgenered to a male then I would prefer being called he instead of she. I thought that was the whole point. And vice versa. If male to female I would prefer she instead of he. It's not clear to me why I would want to be called they. I'm not plural. Then there are Sims I would want to be called he or she because that is who I built so I hope that wouldn't be removed and how would we choose what pronoun the game would use? In the CAS filters? another slot to pick the pronoun?
Cinebar
6 years ago
"comicsforlife;c-17016992" wrote:
"Cinebar;c-17016955" wrote:
I'm a bit confused. I thought if I transgenered to a male then I would prefer being called he instead of she. I thought that was the whole point. And vice versa. If male to female I would prefer she instead of he. It's not clear to me why I would want to be called they. I'm not plural. Then there are Sims I would want to be called he or she because that is who I built so I hope that wouldn't be removed and how would we choose what pronoun the game would use? In the CAS filters? another slot to pick the pronoun?

the they I think is for people who believe they can be both at the same time male and female though I could be wrong
@Cinebar

Thank you, it's confusing to me. I refer to they when I don't know if a person is a he and she, or if they prefer he or she, but where I live they is plural and my grammar teacher would roll over if I said They is, instead of they are. I never read the popups much anyway, just wondering how we choose this like in CAS, which would seem easier work for developers then changing this for every language this game supports.
annaliese39
New Spectator
6 years ago
@Cinebar @comicsforlife Gender identity can get confusing as it means thinking outside of what society and our own culture teaches us. My understanding is that there are more than two genders and also agender i.e. being without gender. Nonbinary can mean someone has multiple genders, has partial genders, moves between genders and/or has fluctuating genders, or has no gender at all etc. There's a lot more to it and everyone is different, but basically anyone who doesn't fit perfectly into one of the binary gender categories male or female may choose to identify as nonbinary. So, you don't have to be transgender to be nonbinary and not all transgender people are nonbinary. I think of gender identity as being more of a feeling or sense of who you are inside, than it necessarily being about your body or your gender expression? I'm nowhere near an expert on this though, so I'm sure others will be better at explaining.
Cinebar
6 years ago
"annaliese39;c-17017023" wrote:
@Cinebar @comicsforlife Gender identity can get confusing as it means thinking outside of what society and our own culture teaches us. My understanding is that there are more than two genders and also agender i.e. being without gender. Nonbinary can mean someone has multiple genders, has partial genders, moves between genders and/or has fluctuating genders, or has no gender at all etc. There's a lot more to it and everyone is different, but basically anyone who doesn't fit perfectly into one of the binary gender categories male or female may choose to identify as nonbinary. So, you don't have to be transgender to be nonbinary and not all transgender people are nonbinary. I think of gender identity as being more of a feeling or sense of who you are inside, than it necessarily being about your body or your gender expression? I'm nowhere near an expert on this though, so I'm sure others will be better at explaining.

Thanks. It is confusing. I hope they can add this to the CAS filters so others can keep the he or she they would like to keep. I have no other way to understand how they would do this without doing that way because that is a huge rewrite of game and a lot of time for every language but maybe easier if it's chosen in CAS, but then I have no idea how much time and money it would take to change every single language this game supports. CAS seems easier to me, but I don't know much about all that.
annaliese39
New Spectator
6 years ago
"Cinebar;c-17017035" wrote:
Thanks. It is confusing. I hope they can add this to the CAS filters so others can keep the he or she they would like to keep. I have no other way to understand how they would do this without doing that way because that is a huge rewrite of game and a lot of time for every language but maybe easier if it's chosen in CAS, but then I have no idea how much time and money it would take to change every single language this game supports. CAS seems easier to me, but I don't know much about all that.

No problem. :) I agree it does seem like it would be complicated to implement in TS4 at this stage, but I'm no expert on game design either. That's why I suggested simply calling sims by their names might be a simple solution, at least for now? I honestly don't know though.