Please close this thread

This thread isn't about any other form of under-representation than male/male families and couples. There is only one type of of couple comparable - female/female couples - and they are clearly favoured.

My bottom line remains: if you are going to include same-sex couples, make sure you include couples from both sexes and not just one. Don't only represent one token gay couple and then have three different lesbian couples with distinct styles and backstories and more traditional family structures. It's not hard to grasp.

And the fact that they OVER-represented female/female couples in the latest EP is just like pouring salt in the wound. There are four families in Eco Lifestyle and half of them are lesbian couples. This feels ludicrous and why people claim they are virtue-signalling (but in a safe way, as the backlash to F/F couples would never be as bad as to M/M couples).

"@SimmerGeorge;c-17613013" wrote:
I'm sure if I looked at your game I could find some race, sexuality etc. that isn't being "represented".

Let’s not even go there... :D

Ok, I was refraining from posting here about the main topic, but I guess I might as well, since the OP seems to be taking an issue with other people’s opinions, especially if they aren’t gay themselves.

Personally I could not care less about what pre-mades Maxis makes or not. I play with my own sims, and if I want to I can make my own pre-mades. The townies are just background noise especially when they don’t even have proper personalities.

I don’t really need representation coming from some random ass pre-mades in the sims, I think that’s kind of dumb, but I do think that if Maxis is so keen on adding them, they could at least make an effort to not make them Hollywood clichés. It’s funny for two seconds but when you think about it, the portrail of gay men in media has always been pretty bad and I do wish that would change, because it doesn’t help anyone.

And it’s pretty hilarious how people are afraid to speak on the topic because they are scared to offend others or to be called ists or phobes. Ya’ll need to chill, I know there’s children in these forums but a lot of us are adults too, so lets behave like so. And also, grow thicker skin, it’s the internet, crap is bound to happen since people are far more agressive when they are protected by a monitor or a phone screen.

"Simtanium;c-17612477" wrote:
@comicsforlife I haven't noticed the lack of single pre-mades myself, but I'm only recently coming back to TS4 from a long hiatus. This thread was meant to draw attention to the disparity between the representation of male and female same-sex couples, though. Perhaps we will see some awesome pre-made singletons in a future dating pack!

@silentcyborg Thank you. :smile: Yes, I would love to get turn-ons and turn-offs back as a non-intrusive way of doing this. I always made my gay Sims have turn-ons for facial hair and muscles and turn-offs for makeup in TS2. :lol:

@Horrorgirl6 I can understand your perspective. I guess it's just a little bit disappointing when all I ever see in media is gay men being represented in a certain kind of way that doesn't reflect me, and I hoped the Sims would be a bit more humanising/respectful given its track record.

@pepperjax1230 I can absolutely make my own families, yes. But the point of this thread was to illustrate the disparity between the representation of male and female same-sex couples, and how it is disappointing for a long-time fan and quite distasteful for EA to take this route when they have previously had more backbone when it came to this topic.

@CAPTAIN_NXR7 You're entitled to voice your opinion but I think you're missing my point entirely. I personally wouldn't have been offended or upset if EA decided to never include any same-sex couples in the game at all. Like you say, I can create my own (and I actually usually play straight couples as I enjoy playing with genetics and creating families). However, when EA decided to start marketing this game as a way to "represent yourself" and became very vocal about its LGBT+ inclusion they opened themselves up tor this criticism. I am never one of those people who would say a straight person couldn't have a viewpoint on gay topics, but it likely is difficult to comprehend unless you have experienced it yourself. The portrayal of gay men in media is extremely monolithic and stereotypical, and actually quite insulting. Gay characters are usually shown as catty, comedic and promiscuous; and are never shown in a loving relationship or raising a family. Lesbian couples are much easier to include as they (often) appeal to straight male viewers and are more socially acceptable. It is very common to see lesbian couples shown raising a child. While this sort of thing is something I have come to expect from most other forms of media that claim to be "woke" but only push these issues in socially-acceptable ways, given the Sims franchises' history of being (dare I say) brave for including homosexual relationships when it ships all over the world, I expected better from them.

@Chazzzy In future, please don't comment on my topics unless you have something constructive to add. Thanks.

I’m going to ask again why are you depending on EA to make something you can easily do? The game is a platform to be creative and make how you want. EA doesn’t need to provide anything for you if it’s not being represented make it yourself. It’s not that hard to do. All opinions are valid whether you like them or not Chazzy is just explaining that you can make your own families to. No need to be rude and say they aren’t saying anything constructive. This is a forum you are posting on.

"Simtanium;c-17613066" wrote:
God, I hate how people are using the hibiscus emoji to represent curse words. Is this a new trend? The internet is really the pits of humanity.

They aren’t doing anything the forum is doing it.

"Simtanium;c-17613054" wrote:
@Sigzy05 I don't have an issue with anyone (including straight people - can't believe I have to post that) posting their opinion, so please don't put words into my mouth. You contradict yourself halfway through your post by agreeing with me after accusing me of being the Angry Gay. I didn't accuse anyone of having any sort of bigotry, and it really doesn't bother me if someone doesn't agree with my lifestyle.

I have gone over the reasons why EA should be held accountable several times now, however. So I'm going to leave it at that.

I really didn’t put words on your mouth though. It simply was what it seemed to me. Why else point out for instance that your post had a lot of likes on tumblr from other gay people?

And how did I contradict myself? Also, what is an “Angry Gay”?

"Simtanium;c-17613071" wrote:

"pepperjax1230;c-17613069" wrote:

"Simtanium;c-17613066" wrote:
God, I hate how people are using the hibiscus emoji to represent curse words. Is this a new trend? The internet is really the pits of humanity.

They aren’t doing anything the forum is doing it.

Perhaps they should familiarise themselves with the forum rules then and start adhering to them.

Just stick to your post and don’t tell people how they should post.

"Simtanium;c-17613076" wrote:

"Sigzy05;c-17613072" wrote:
Why else point out for instance that your post had a lot of likes on tumblr from other gay people?

To illustrate that the responses in this thread are not indicative of the general consensus, and to prove that isn't some fringe "LOOK AT ME AND VALIDATE ME!" type of thread by someone with too much time on their hands but something that many people have noticed and feel disappointed by.

I'm pretty sure, looking at your post history, you champion criticism of EA. But when I point out their hypocrisy I'm in the wrong because it's a topic you disagree with?

Just because I critiscize them on a lot of fronts doesn’t mean I do it blindly. I personally don’t really see hypocrisy here, there’s more lesbian couples in TS4 pre-mades, so what? EA/Maxis claims to be a company that stands behind diversity, they are doing just that, in their very corporate way to try and get a bigger audience to play their games.

"Sigzy05;c-17613081" wrote:

"Simtanium;c-17613076" wrote:

"Sigzy05;c-17613072" wrote:
Why else point out for instance that your post had a lot of likes on tumblr from other gay people?

To illustrate that the responses in this thread are not indicative of the general consensus, and to prove that isn't some fringe "LOOK AT ME AND VALIDATE ME!" type of thread by someone with too much time on their hands but something that many people have noticed and feel disappointed by.

I'm pretty sure, looking at your post history, you champion criticism of EA. But when I point out their hypocrisy I'm in the wrong because it's a topic you disagree with?

Just because I critiscize them on a lot of fronts doesn’t mean I do it blindly. I personally don’t really see hypocrisy here, there’s more lesbian couples in TS4 pre-mades, so what? EA/Maxis claims to be a company that stands behind diversity, they are doing just that, in their very corporate way to try and get a bigger audience to play their games.

It's absolutely hypocrisy to claim to stand behind the LGBT community and then only do so for a fraction of it, and to do so in a safe, socially acceptable way. It's extremely insulting that they only include gay characters as stereotypical caricatures, and that they are not deemed worthy enough to advertise their gameshow or to appear on the games' boxart.

The erasure of gay male couples and archaic representation of them is DISGUSTING and I will continue to call them out on it regardless of how much it seems to upset you.