New pack and inclusivity problems [ Edited ]

[Rae_Regenbogen]

So, with all the simmers in this world, The Sims 4 team partnered with all white simmers for an Asian-inspired world?? I can’t say I’m surprised, but come on!!!! 

At this point, it feels like the team is TRYING to ignore poc.

Am I missing something here???

And, honestly, even if this world isn’t/wasn’t Asian-inspired, WHY ONLY PARTNER WITH WHITE SIMMERS ANYWAY.

Their “we’ll do better” statement was obvi just performative.  

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[Valadenthys]

100% Mexican here, if that even matters:

-You're posting a bunch of times in  row, you could have include all those posts in a single one.

- You were quick to assume it was a race thing. What if they already had deals with these simmers before? What if they hired them because of specific creations they make and the team wanted? And even better: What if, actually, the skin colour has NOTHING to do with why they chose them, yet you're the first one to point it out?

Have a great day.

[PugLove888]

@Rae_Regenbogen , I only know of one Game Changer who is of Asian ancestry for certain. Perhaps she was unable to contribute?   Also, we can't assume to know every person's complete ethnic background.  Just because someone doesn't look to be a certain ethnicity doesn't mean they can't genetically be, in part,  that ethnicity.  Also, perhaps the other developers (the ones who are EA employees ) on this pack were of Asian ethnicity!   

[Rae_Regenbogen]

*snip*
@Valadenthys I posted multiple times because I became more upset as I thought about this. *snip*

@PugLove888Come on, all of these simmers are white. And if there really is only one Asian game changer, that says even more about EA and their performative allyship. 

*snip* Hopefully the Sims team is paying attention to what Korean simmers are upset and talking about right now. THIS is why diversity matters.

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[jpkarlsen]

@Rae_Regenbogen 

Are they upset that it is Japanese inspired instead of Korean inspired?

[Rae_Regenbogen]

No. They (and other Asian groups) are, justly, upset about shrine worship and the rising sun flag being added to the game. 

[jpkarlsen]

@Rae_Regenbogen 

So they ARE upset that it is Japanese inspired.

And why do you feel that they are justified in not wanting the Japanese flag or items used in Shinto and Buddhist religions.?

[Rae_Regenbogen]

@jpkarlsen No, they are NOT upset that it is Japanese inspired (although there is certainly an opportunity to learn about Wapanism). Read/learn about the issues with shrine worship and the rising sun flag before you make incorrect assumptions. It’s an easy Google search to find out some basic info. For more in-depth reasoning, read their comments.

Also, the rising sun flag is NOT the current Japanese flag.

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[jpkarlsen]

@Rae_Regenbogen 

Japans Current official flag is white with a red disk symbolizing the rising sun. The Japanese self-defense forces use a variant with 8 red rays. The WW2 variant that was abolished after WW2 had 16 rays. Several religions including Christianity worship shrines in some way. I don't know what your problem is with that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrine

[SheriGR]

@Rae_Regenbogen I understand that you are very upset about cultural nuances that may or may not be apparent (especially initially) to other cultures. Plus I may or may not be understanding correctly what's upsetting you in this instance. Likely all I can hope for is to understand in part. That's all many of us can hope for oftentimes - at least at first... before a serious and deeper relationship with a culture is established. 

I remember well the day I excitedly and naively invited our new Korean exchange student to watch "The Karate Kid" with me, and how he got up from the couch and stormed out of the room when Mr. Miyagi brought out his headband. After he had calmed down I soon learned why the symbol on the headband was so offensive to him. Otherwise I would never have known, yet the fact that my intent was naive and well-intended in wanting to show him this film I had loved at his age should also be weighed in. 

We all have much to learn from each other, and the approach that EA takes to the Sims is a huge effort at being inclusive. There is a lot in this effort that offends me personally that makes others very happy - but the game is not all about my interests, morals, or culture. I just ignore or don't play some aspects that are not a good fit for me.

Anyway, whether or not they 'got it right' on some aspect of any particular culture, it's not useful to feedback about that with hostility. I doubt they intended to offend anyone, and it is more useful to simply add feedback that is informative to let them know if they were off-target on something that was culturally important.