Sims 4’s Free Update Expands Sexual Orientation Options
It is one of the most prominent gaming franchises in promoting inclusion, but there are always more things that can be done. The Sims have been championing same-sex relationships since its inception. A recent update added customisable nouns to The Sims 4.
In recent years, The Sims 4 developer Maxis teamed up to the LGBTQ+ organizations It Gets Better Project & GLAAD in order to make their game more inclusive. The latest The Sims 4 update continues the good work and introduces options for sexual orientation.
These changes are part of the new Sims 4 High Schools Years Expansion pack, but all Sims 4 users will have access to some of the pack’s features, including the new sexual orientation customization menu. You can choose whether your Sim is attracted by men, women, mixed genders, or none. This will show how your Sim reacts to romantic advances by other Sims.
You can also choose whether you want to develop romantic relationships. This allows you to create sexual or aromantic Sims. You can also choose whether your character will participate in WooHoo and with whom. These options can be edited at any time.
It may be obvious that The Sims 4 has recently added pronouns to its sexual orientation menu. However, this still represents a binary understanding of gender. Jessica Croft, the lead designer for the expansion, stated that while they would like to offer non-binary options in the future, technical limitations prevent them from doing so at the moment. Croft explained, “Mechanically non binary Sims aren’t yet present in The Sims 4.” […] This is a still a work in progress. There are many more steps ahead. Another step on that journey is the development of proper mechanical systems to fully support non-binary Sims.
