Forum:Gender pronouns guideline in the Manual of Style
To cut to the chase right away, I would like to amend the Manual of Style to include a new section about use of gendered pronouns in reference to Sims in the games. I'll paste my proposed amendment directly below, and then I'll give my reasoning below that.
- Gender and gendered pronouns
Gender terms and pronouns used in an article about a Sim, or in an article that refers to a Sim, should match that Sim's gender expression. "Gender expression" here refers to the Sim's physical appearance, choice of dress, speaking voice, or other mannerisms, especially as those factors conform or do not conform to the traditional male/female gender binary. The choice of using one set of pronouns over other sets depends on the reasonable assumption of the Sim's gender. In the vast majority of cases, a Sim's gender can be reasonably assumed.
In cases where a Sim clearly expresses one gender, but that gender does not match their biological sex or does not match the sex that is coded into the game (which is typically accessed via a package editor program), gender terms and pronouns in the article text should match the Sim's expressed gender. The Sim should be categorized into Category:Sims with an ambiguous gender, and the Sim's infobox(es) should reflect the ambiguity. For example, Mrs. CrumpleBottom, from The Sims 2, is depicted in-game as a female, whereas the game code for the character treats Mrs. CrumpleBottom as a male; the article on Mrs. CrumpleBottom uses female pronouns.
In cases where there is reasonable doubt as to a Sim's expressed gender, neutral pronouns (they/their/theirs) should be used instead of male or female gendered pronouns. The Sim should be categorized into Category:Sims with an ambiguous gender, and the gender stated in the Sim's infobox(es) should reflect this ambiguity. A discussion on the article talk page to decide whether there is any doubt as to a Sim's expressed gender will suffice. There does not need to be consensus around what a Sim's gender is; if there is merely a disagreement about the gender, regardless of in what direction the disagreement lies, the default is to use gender neutral terminology.
Note that the use of neutral pronouns in place of more specific pronouns is not meant to assume, in regards to canon, what that Sim's gender actually is.
I'm proposing this in order to correct what I personally see as an error and an oversight. The specific issue that spurs this on is that of Morgyn Ember. For those who are unfamiliar, Morgyn Ember is a Sim that is, broadly speaking, gender non-binary. Things get a bit murky because The Sims 4 has several customizable options as to how a Sim expresses gender and sex, and Morgyn's specific options aren't consistent with one or the other binary genders. Soon after Morgyn's page was created, there began a back-and-forth of several different editors swapping the pronouns used to refer to Morgyn, either flipping them to they/them/theirs or he/him/his. Adjacent to this was a discussion on the talk page wherein the quasi-solution that was eventually drifted towards was to treat Morgyn's gender as male; this in spite of disagreement in the discussion and reasonable doubts as to the conclusion. Compounding this, at some point a comment was included on the article itself, visible only while editing the page, which tells editors not to change the pronouns on the article to they/them/theirs, seemingly implying that consensus had defined Morgyn Ember's gender as male. In spite of this supposed consensus and the comment left on the page, the article has been flipped to they/them/theirs pronouns at least (by my count) five times in the last twelve months.
It's pretty clear that there is no consensus as to what Morgyn's correct pronouns are. It's also clear that this is a particular issue that we've run across with different Sims before. It would make sense for us to communally establish a process by which we can decide what a Sim's proper pronouns are, rather than doing it ad hoc every time we get a Sim that doesn't fit neatly into the binary mold.
People are getting hung up on the idea that changing the Sim's pronouns to neutral terms makes assumptions about the Sim's gender, when in fact it does the exact opposite. To refer to a Sim as a "he" makes an assumption about that Sim's gender. Most of the time, we're perfectly comfortable to make that assumption, and there is no reasonable person who could argue differently. But sometimes, it can be called into question whether a Sim fits neatly within a masculine or feminine box. In those circumstances, it is impossible for us to make a reasonable assumption about their gender, just as we cannot assume that that Sim is genderfluid, genderqueer, transgendered, etc. But I must emphasize that the use of a neutral term like 'they' doesn't assume a non-binary gender in the same way that 'he' assumes masculinity; rather, using a term like 'they' refuses to assume any gender at all. That's why it's "gender neutral". I make the last point because there is, in my opinion, a rather misguided quasi-obsession with whether a given piece of information is canon, and that concept has seeped into the discussion of which pronouns to use. I want to say again, using neutral terminology makes no assumptions, it merely confirms that there is reasonable skepticism and that we don't want to make an erroneous assumption, either in assuming that they are cisgendered, or that they are non-binary.
I would be remiss without mentioning the broader context of this, as well. The choice of the language we use and the terms we use has a broader impact than a couple articles on the wiki. This is a matter of social justice. Though we might want to cage our discussion about which pronouns to use in terms of what is or isn't official canon or what is or isn't defined by the game itself, readers and editors in the real world may visit these pages and view the contents through a different lens. To them, they might see a passionate effort to enforce a gender binary onto a Sim that doesn't fit within the binary, and then compare that to experiences that they themselves face in daily life. In this way, the use of gendered terms where there is reasonable room for ambiguity can actually be hurtful to some people who read our articles. And though it is not our job to shelter our readers or protect them, at the same time, we can take a measured, reasonable step to prevent unnecessary distress, and the "sacrifice" that we must undertake to do this really isn't a sacrifice at all. Merely adopting a neutral terminology makes no assumptions and leaves the door open to broader interpretation.
And so, with all this said, I am proposing the above-posted amendment to the Manual of Style, to give clearer guidance as to what we should do in cases of gender ambiguity now and in the future. The proposal as I've written it would default to neutral terms in cases where there is reasonable doubt as to a Sim's gender. It would re-purpose Category:Sims with an ambiguous gender to also include these Sims. This change would not assume that these Sims are male or female, but also would not assume that they are non-binary, transgender, etc. The exact determination of all of that would, as always, fall to the editors to figure out based on evidence from the game, from game code, from comments and commentary from SimGurus, etc. It is only correct, from a factual standpoint, that we should start from a place of neutrality if there is reasonable doubt as to a Sim's gender. Adopting this amendment to the MoS establishes this neutrality, and leaves room for further discussion and consensus around these complicated issues; the current assumptions tend not to leave room for this. Presenting these ambiguous cases as ambiguous, in neutral terms, is the best solution. -- LostInRiverview talk · blog · contribs 05:53, 6 May 2021 (UTC)