Gender

In all The Sims games, there are male and female Sims, who can generally be distinguished by their appearance. In general, females have breasts, larger hips, smaller shoulders and waist, and have lower muscle tone. Females also have smaller feet and hands, though this often goes unnoticed. Males lack breasts, have larger shoulders and smaller hips, and have higher muscle tone. Children and prior life stages have none of these physical differences, although most of their customization features are separate between genders.

Females also tend to have a larger clothing choice in CAS.

Differences and similarities
On the one hand, there are some minor differences between the genders in the games. The most prominent difference is that one male Sim and one female Sim are required to create a baby through in-game interactions. Also, gender-specific pronouns will often be used when describing the Sim in a pop-up or on a tag, such as those that appear for some careers, moods, and traits.

Overall, however, there are few, if any, differences between the genders. For example, the reactions of female and male Sims to the same situations appear to be equal, if they have the same personality. Also, both genders may pursue the same jobs.

For any given life stage, male and female Sims have the same height.

The Sims
In The Sims: House Party and The Sims: Hot Date, there are doors that are used exclusively by one sex, usually used for washrooms on community lots.

A male Sim stands up to use the toilet, if his Bladder score is high enough.

When a female Sim takes a shower, the game censors her breasts.

The Sims 2
There are some customization features in Create a Sim that are only available to one gender. For example, only male Sims have options for facial hair.

Gender does not typically affect social interactions. For example, during a romantic interaction, the Sim who started the interaction normally assumes the pursuing role, regardless of their gender.

With the new pregnancy feature in The Sims 2, females can get pregnant through WooHoo, and males can get pregnant through alien abduction.

A male Sim stands up to use the toilet, if his Bladder score is high enough.

When a female Sim takes a shower, the game censors her breasts.

There are doors that are used exclusively by one sex, usually used for washrooms on community lots.

The Sims 3
Many gender-related aspects of The Sims 3 are similar to The Sims 2.

In The Sims 3, certain relationship labels are organized by gender.

In The Sims 3 World Adventures, there are doors that are used exclusively by one sex, usually used for washrooms on community lots.

In The Sims 3 Generations, children can restrict access to their treehouse, to children of the opposite gender.

The Sims Medieval
In The Sims Medieval, gender differences are similar to those present in The Sims 3. However, there is a new element that is not present in any of the other games in the series: when babies are born, they are friends with their mother, but they are only acquaintances with their father, unless the father is made to socialize with his offspring or if he is controllable.

Unlike the real Middle Ages, men and women are free to pursue any profession.

Gender differences in toys
There are clear gender differences in toys; some are stereotypically thought of as being for girls, and others as being for boys. Regardless, the player can choose whether to have Sims follow these stereotypes.

When Sim toddlers and children make free will choices about which toys to play with, they do not necessarily adhere to these stereotypes: girls do not necessarily pick up "girlish" toys, nor do boys necessarily pick up "boyish" toys. For example, boy toddlers and children are just as likely as girls to play with a dollhouse, a "girlish" toy.

Gender differences in NPCs
In The Sims 2, a neighborhood will usually have three NPCs of any given type, so gender equality is generally not possible. Still, for many types of NPC, the male/female ratio is always the same. For example, there are more female maids than male ones, more policemen and repairmen than policewomen and repairwomen. Nannies and social workers are always female, and butlers are always male.

In The Sims 3, there appears to be gender equality in NPC jobs: for each type of NPC, there is one male and one female.

Gameplay effects
In many games of The Sims, genders will also effect gameplay.
 * In The Sims era (Including The Urbz: Sims in the City), the social Slap will have different animations depending on the gender. It will be a fast/hard slap for the same gender or a light/slow slap for the opposite gender. As of The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories, Slap is the same for all genders.
 * Having a baby requires the 2 Sims to be opposite for this to work. The requirements vary by game.
 * Using Kiss will cause a dialog of having a baby if the Sims are opposite genders.
 * Both Sims must be opposite gender to try for baby and has to be a human, alien, vampire, PlantSim or Witch.
 * Only Humans and Vampires can Try for Baby if the human or vampire are opposite genders and has less than 8 Sims.
 * Only males can use the Urinal and 'Pee on the wall'.
 * In The Sims for Console, the player's gender will also effect whatever Mimi (Female) or Dudley (Male) will appear when he/she moves out of Mom's house.
 * Also in The Sims Bustin' Out, genders will also effect which additional Sims that the player can control after moving from Dudley/Mimi. For example, if the player is a female, he/she can only control Bella while the player can only control Mortimer if he/she is a male.