I actually had to double-check that I hadn’t already posted this piece that I originally wrote for the Sexual Health Alliance because I know I ramble about Sims quite frequently here. Count yourselves lucky since I have not shared this intimate detail with you all until now.
Fun Fact About Shelby #???: Playing The Sims has always turned me on.
In 2000, the computer game The Sims entered the world. My dad inexplicably had a copy and my life was forever changed. Currently, we are on the fourth iteration of the game, The Sims 4, and while much aesthetically has changed, my instant arousal has been consistent. It was not until I started school with the Sexual Health Alliance that I began to recognize my arousal as a kink response.
Before, I just chalked it up to being… well, young and horny—and making your sims “woohoo” can be pretty exciting. Though I never unpacked the why behind my arousal until now. So why does playing this game turn me on? What, if anything specifically, is my trigger? And, perhaps most importantly, are there other horny Simmers?
Upon examining my state while playing, I’ve established my arousal stems from three origin points: an underlying god-complex, interest in voyeurism, and an intense state of relaxation.
The Sims world revolves around a god-complex; the entire point of the game is detailed dominance—physical appearance, clothing, personality, lifestyle, goals, needs, desires, advancements are all controllable. The goal is to live out fantasies, to be their god.
You are the creator and manipulator, choosing exactly what your Sim does during the day. With certain cheat codes (truly the only way to play The Sims if you ask me), you can manipulate relationships, force your Sim to fall in love with someone else, boost their relationship to high levels within minutes. You can change their mood, starve or feed them, make them rest, or sleep deprive them. You can torture and kill, but you can also reward them with pleasing their personality traits, fulfilling their needs, and advancing their skills.
Playing The Sims is an act of dominance. It is also an acceptable form of voyeurism. Since The Sims 2 in 2004, your Sims can “woohoo,” or the G-rated version of “Have Sex” in-game. Understandably so, it was a huge hit. According to the Sims Fandom page, there are over 20 “places” to woohoo in The Sims 4 and many more in the earlier renditions.
For those wanting to kick their in-game experience up a notch, there are thousands of downloadable content and mods. One mod, called WickedWhims, allows your Sims to have explicit sex. Normally, when a Sim undresses (when changing, showering, woohooing) the Sim is cartoonishly pixelated. WickedWhims does away with that and comes with loads of features like animated sex and the ability to have orgies, give fellatio, and anal play. Your Sim can don a strap-on, contract STIs, and even watch porn.
While the woohooing is an important part of playing the game, it isn’t the only thing that turns me on. When I play The Sims, I enter a state of total relaxation. Personally, I find the building and decorating aspect of the game one of the most soothing activities I can do. Creating is focus-driven, but requires little effort. I am, at once, focused but fuzzy, just barely drifting out of reality. I’m slow, methodical, and the state of utter contentedness is exciting.
As for the community of horny Simmers, I think the creators and downloaders (such as myself) of the WickedWhims mod are evidence enough that I’m not alone.
The Sims 4 is available for download on the Origin store. I highly recommend taking it for a spin.
Shit We’re Loving: WATCH
Shelby’s Pick: Sex Education Season 3
This is the best television show ever created. I know I’ve said that once or twice before and, similar to the word “love,” that statement has kind of lost its luster. But I have never been more serious in my life: Sex Education is the most courageous, important, revolutionary show on Netflix (really all streaming shows). There are a plethora of current shows about teen sex—the Gossip Girl reboot, Riverdale et al, anything on the CW—but none of these shows actually talk about sex. Sex is shown as flashy, slightly dangerous, definitely taboo, and usually those involved are either desperately in love or regret their decision in the morning. Sex is not simply a part of relationships; it is the relationship in these shows.
What Sex Education does differently is share actual, accurate information out loud and clearly. Characters are in different positions, doing the deed with different people, and at different stages in their lives. Terms like “female pleasure,” “consent,” and “no, you are not broken,” are used regularly instead of just implied. Types of orientations, sex acts themselves, and STI information is disclosed in an open and nonjudgmental way—the key difference in this show and its counterparts. They show what sex actually looks like for teens, lovers, married couples, same-sex couples, virgins, and those simply not interested. This show gives me hope that one day, maybe before I leave this mortal coil, we will stop hating people based on their sexual preferences.
I have not begun the latest season which just dropped, but have instead opted to rewatch Season 2 in preparation. SO NO FUCKING SPOILERS.
Show Your Support: Native Land Digital
We are on stolen land. You and I, right here, right now, are on land that was never ours to take. Yet, many don’t know this. Even less care. But learning—and acknowledging—is half the battle and Native Land Digital aims to have everyone take that first step. Native Land Digital is a free, online tool to learn of the original Indigenous territories in a specific area. The project, which started in 2015 as Native-Land.ca, strives to “create and foster conversations about the history of colonialism, Indigenous ways of knowing, and settler-Indigenous relations, through educational resources” like their comprehensive and interactive map and the Territory Acknowledgement Guide.
Land is sacred and, as Native Land Digital stresses, it is not easy to draw lines that divide land into chunks that delineate who “owns” a different part of it. In reality, land is “not something to be exploited and ‘owned,’ but something to be honored and treasured.” To honor the sacredness of the spaces we’ve built our lives on, the spaces we often take for granted, we acknowledge and extend our hearts to the land’s original owners and to Mother Earth herself, for bearing the weight of humanity.
Shelby and Lizzy acknowledge the Kaskaskia, Myaamia, and Hopewell land they live on. Shelby also acknowledges the Shawandasse Tula people and their land.
Sydney acknowledges the Munseen Lenape and Wappinger land she lives on.
Aimée acknowledges the Merrick land she lives on.
Kayla acknowledges the Kiikaapoi, Jumanos, Wichita, and Tawakoni land she lives on.
Blaze acknowledges the Ramaytush, Ohlone, and Muwekma land she lives on.
Daily Intention:
Today I will…
Not open Sims because I have so much fucking shit to do.
Here’s some nifty buttons for you to press, enjoy: