Russia gives the Sims 4 an "Adults Only" rating

[FAST6191]

Prostitution isn't legal either in most civilized countries either, both on the provider and the client's side of things.

Granted we now have to debate what a civilised country is, not to mention the underlying point still stands, but I am not sure of the numbers there. A quick search says the numbers probably skew over 50% in favour of legal
http://prostitution.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000772
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, a lot of Europe and Japan have some pretty lax laws, I would include the US but it is mainly certain counties within Nevada and it feels a bit like reaching to include the rest of the country.

Well, I could see kids if very young kids (too young to be playing the Sims anyway), played they could get the wrong ideas about how sex is usually performed.

You mean you do not fill up an imaginary bar with gifts, persistence and pleasant conversation?.... that would explain a few things.

 

[bluejon]

No kid is attracted to the opposite sex or otherwise because they don't have sexual attraction at all - arousal requires hormones which are not present in the body in sufficient quantity to trigger it. A child needs to reach sexual maturity to even understand the concept. You can disagree with me, but this is biology - you're arguing against scientific fact.

Still disagree you could like a person without being sexually attracted to them...

 

[Foxi4]

Still disagree you could like a person without being sexually attracted to them...

This is not about "liking" someone, the whole conversation is about sexuality. I like cats but I'm not going to marry one.

All around the world "boys play with boys" and "girls play with girls", and that's not because every single child in the world is gay, it's because they have not developed the attraction towards the opposite sex, or any attraction to any sex at all for that matter. They don't play with each other for one main reason- because they see the differences between each other (boys wear blue, girls wear pink, boys wear trousers, girls wear skirts, boys play with cars, girls play with dolls etc.) and consider that to be a symbol of classification into groups that they should stick to (humans have a natural drive to create collectives on the basis of similarity), that is the social construct they live in and it's sort of our fault because we adults created it and maintain it.

It's when biology steps in when this changes and boys become interested in girls and vice-versa, even if they don't quite understand why that's the case. Sure, you get the rare boyfriend-girlfriend kinds of relationship even with really young children, but those are based on emulation of pre-existing relationships they've seen (playing "house") and not sexual attraction, the basis of relationships of older teens and adults.

 

[bluejon]

This is not about "liking" someone, the whole conversation is about sexuality. I like cats but I'm not going to marry one.

All around the world "boys play with boys" and "girls play with girls", and that's not because every single child in the world is gay, it's because they have not developed the attraction towards the opposite sex, or any attraction to any sex at all for that matter. They don't play with each other for one main reason- because they see the differences between each other (boys wear blue, girls wear pink, boys wear trousers, girls wear skirts, boys play with cars, girls play with dolls etc.) and consider that to be a symbol of classification into groups that they should stick to (humans have a natural drive to create collectives on the basis of similarity), that is the social construct they live in and it's sort of our fault because we adults created it and maintain it.

It's when biology steps in when this changes and boys become interested in girls and vice-versa, even if they don't quite understand why that's the case. Sure, you get the rare boyfriend-girlfriend kinds of relationship even with really young children, but those are based on emulation of pre-existing relationships they've seen (playing "house") and not sexual attraction, the basis of relationships of older teens and adults.

I understand what you're saying but I don't completely agree...There are some that break this "rule" and other factors that play into this besides the basic understanding of what everyone thinks especially what you're stating...you should do your own field research instead of quoting others...

 

[Foxi4]

I understand what you're saying but I don't completely agree...There are some that break this "rule" and other factors that play into this besides the basic understanding of what everyone thinks especially what you're stating...you should do your own field research instead of quoting others...

Yes, there are some kids that do play with other kids of the opposite sex and yes, there are kids that play exclusively with kids of their own sex - this is not a black and white distinction, it's a gradable spectrum with numerous variables to it. For example, I would wager that children who have siblings of the opposite sex (and good relations with them) are more keen on integrating with children of the opposite sex in other environments (at least if peer pressure doesn't stand in the way), but I'd have to look for some research on that matter before stating it as fact.

I've got plenty of experience with children, I've had children psychology as a course in university (I'm on a teacher's programme after all) and I've clocked several hours teaching English and Computer Science in my local primary as a part of work experience - I've met a lot of kids, I got to observe what they do on breaks and I know what I'm talking about.

Thing is, you cannot base your claims solely on personal experience - that's circumstancial and anecdotal evidence. Not only that, there's a myriad of development anomalies that can occur which may trigger an early onset of puberty, but those cases are rare and don't really reflect the general rule. You need to have a more all-encompasing look on the matter, read some related literature and delve into the scientific studies, this is a hightly active field in psychology, there's plenty of material to go by. I'm merely giving you the general rule of how this thing works.

 

[the_randomizer]

Hold the phone, people still care about The Sims series? I thought this game had no relevancy and people, you know, moved on to better games? As far as I'm concerned, the less people that have access to this game, the better; we don't need such tripe games. People seem to be willing to trust EA/Maxis after the Sim City fiasco

 

[calmwaters]

No kid is attracted to the opposite sex or otherwise because they don't have sexual attraction at all - arousal requires hormones that stimulate libido, they are not present in the body in sufficient quantity to trigger it during childhood because the glands that produce them have not matured yet. A child needs to reach sexual maturity to even understand the concept. You can disagree with me, but this is biology - you're arguing against scientific fact.

I know 12 year old boys that enjoy thumbing through Playboy magazines to look at the hot chicks in there. Just because the glands haven't matured yet doesn't mean they're not there. When you were a child, were you attracted to members of the opposite sex? (Stupid question, sorry) But I highly doubt you'd reached sexual maturity at this point in your life.

 

[paulfalcon]

Well, back when I was a child, I fell into that catergory of hanging out with only boys, even though, there was a girl or two I talked to. But, these days, I see kids getting a bit more weird... wanting girl friends, making their own assumptions about sex, and the like. I never even knew about the word sex at their age but, now, with how our society constantly talks and jokes about sex and these kids are constantly bombarded with it in their early developmental stages, I believe it's only harming a child's growth. Being a guy, this might sound weird but, there is more to life than sex or sexual orientation. So, I agree with Russia, not because of just the gay-implementation but, the fact that kids shouldn't play games that feature sex... or in this case, "Woo-hoo", period.

 

[Foxi4]

I know 12 year old boys that enjoy thumbing through Playboy magazines to look at the hot chicks in there. Just because the glands haven't matured yet doesn't mean they're not there. When you were a child, were you attracted to members of the opposite sex? (Stupid question, sorry) But I highly doubt you'd reached sexual maturity at this point in your life.

Boys enter puberty between the age of 11 and 12 on average, I'm not really surprised that they're pawing through Playboys at that age if given the chance, neither would I be surprised if they were pawing at something else while at it, if you catch my drift. 11-12 is the initial stage, so the glands are very much there and they are active although not fully matured, that's when the interest begins to surface as you say. Show the same material to a 6-7 year old and it's likely that the boy will just be confused (metaphorical figure, don't do that, it's probably illegal).

Well, back when I was a child, I fell into that catergory of hanging out with only boys, even though, there was a girl or two I talked to. But, these days, I see kids getting a bit more weird... wanting girl friends, making their own assumptions about sex, and the like. I never even knew about the word sex at their age but, now, with how our society constantly talks and jokes about sex and these kids are constantly bombarded with it in their early developmental stages, I believe it's only harming a child's growth. Being a guy, this might sound weird but, there is more to life than sex or sexual orientation. So, I agree with Russia, not because of just the gay-implementation but, the fact that kids shouldn't play games that feature sex... or in this case, "Woo-hoo", period.

The media children have access to are getting more and more sexualized so it's natural that even children who have absolutely no concept of what sex or sexuality is wish to emulate behaviours they've observed. Not only that, science shows that humans as a species enter sexual maturation earlier and earlier with each generation. Whether this kind of behaviour early on in a child's life is good or not is a subject to debate - Russians think it's not so they have law that reflects that.

 

[paulfalcon]

Foxi4: And I agree with that. Kids should be worried about things like doing the math, learning words to better express themselves, and finding out why water is so vital to everyone and the environment. Learning about their sexual organs can come later.

 

[tofast4u]

What people don't understand is being Gay is more of a cultural thing. People become gay because its in our media and its becoming an accepted thing in the west. Russian's have a different mind set regarding this, most Russians if you ask them don't accept homosexuals.

 

[Foxi4]

What people don't understand is being Gay is more of a cultural thing. People become gay because its in our media and its becoming an accepted thing in the west. Russian's have a different mind set regarding this, most Russians if you ask them don't accept homosexuals.

"Being gay" is a result of both sociological and biological factors - you can't help it if you're gay, you're just gay. Thing is, Russia tries to nullify the social imprint homosexuality has on the society, fearing that people might start emulating homosexual behaviour, gay acceptance is indeed very low, so I can see why the game would be rated this way if it contains homosexual "options". Homosexuality has been around since the dawn of time, even in ancient civilizations, the only difference is the level of social acceptance it's met with.

 

[tofast4u]

"Being gay" is a result of both sociological and biological factors - you can't help it if you're gay, you're just gay. Thing is, Russia tries to nullify the social imprint homosexuality has on the society, fearing that people might start emulating homosexual behaviour, gay acceptance is indeed very low, so I can see why the game would be rated this way if it contains homosexual "options". Homosexuality has been around since the dawn of time, even in ancient civilizations, the only difference is the level of social acceptance it's met with.

Don't you think that because of it being socially accepted many people choose to do that? I know many people that were "gay" and then when they grow up and become a little more mature they aren't anymore. I also know many girls from high school that wanted to experiment but they weren't really gay because now they aren't.

 

[nl255]

You misunderstood what I actually said. What I said is that forgery is considered a felony and a criminal offense, so is prostitution often times, wheras illegally downloading copyrighted content for personal use (not distribution) is most often considered petty crime or a minor offense. You will get into infinitely trouble more commiting the first two in comparison to the latter. That, and you missed the "civilized countries" part of my post - in a civilized country you will not get the death penalty for owning a video game, no matter what that game might be.

As far as Australia is concerned, importing banned goods is not an offense as severe as forgery of officially issued documentation. In the case of video games it ends with seizing the item in question and in the event that the item poses some sort of danger or breaks the Australian law then there might be prosecution involved. This is not the case with video games, so it would probably end with seizing the item, destroying it and dropping the charges.

Wrong. Importing any contraband item, from a video game to high explosives violates Australian law and is punishable by 10 years in prison. Do not confuse unwillingness to prosecute with what the law actually says. Oh, and mere possession of such games does violate Australian law in several places there. so the question is can you get 10 years for forging an ID card? If not then it is actually more illegal to import (and importation does include piracy, btw) than to forge your ID.

 

[FAST6191]

Don't you think that because of it being socially accepted many people choose to do that?

You can have one sexuality and practice another (see also various religious orders that practice celibacy), however it rarely makes for the best results in psychological terms. To that end yeah increased social acceptance probably saw more people become practising homosexuals, and that is a good thing.


Anyway back to laughing at silly laws of places all around the world and their knockon effects.

 

[Foxi4]

Wrong. Importing any contraband item, from a video game to high explosives violates Australian law and is punishable by 10 years in prison. Do not confuse unwillingness to prosecute with what the law actually says. Oh, and mere possession of such games does violate Australian law in several places there. so the question is can you get 10 years for forging an ID card? If not then it is actually more illegal to import (and importation does include piracy, btw) than to forge your ID.

I would argue whether or not piracy could be considered import, but that's besides the point.

Maximim penalties for forgery of documents is 10 years, for possessing equipment used for forging identification documents is 7 years, for possession of forged documents is another 10 years and on top of possession you would also face prosecution due to the use of your false documents in order to purchase an item that would normally be illegal for you, which is fraud on top of forgery. Here's a monograph: http://www.judcom.nsw.gov.au/public...raphs-1/research-monograph-37/Monograph37.pdf

Don't you think that because of it being socially accepted many people choose to do that? I know many people that were "gay" and then when they grow up and become a little more mature they aren't anymore. I also know many girls from high school that wanted to experiment but they weren't really gay because now they aren't.

Social acceptance allows more people to come out of the closet. It could have a negative impact on those who are still developing their sexuality (due to the social influence, but proving this would require medical trials, I have not seen reaserch that conclusively proves or disproves this), but those who are long past puberty and are gay are just gay and there's nothing they can do about it other than either conceal it or accept it.

 

[calmwaters]

Boys enter puberty between the age of 11 and 12 on average, I'm not really surprised that they're pawing through Playboys at that age if given the chance, neither would I be surprised if they were pawing at something else while at it, if you catch my drift. 11-12 is the initial stage, so the glands are very much there and they are active although not fully matured, that's when the interest begins to surface as you say. Show the same material to a 6-7 year old and it's likely that the boy will just be confused (metaphorical figure, don't do that, it's probably illegal).

Oh yeah, a six year old won't get as much interest out of a Playboy as a 12 year old; their level of sexuality hasn't grown to that point. And going back to your earlier statement about no kid being attracted to the opposite sex: a 6, maybe even a 4 year old boy loves his mother. Love, attraction, pretty much synonyms, if you get my meaning. But then that kid develops a social life (e.g. kindergarten) and comes into contact with other girls. Awwww... and some boys develop crushes on those little girls. But the point in a boy's life when he wants to start having sex with those girls starts around puberty and that feeling stays with him for pretty much the rest of his life.

 

[DinohScene]

I honestly thought Russia would at first ban the sale of the Sims 4.

 

[Foxi4]

I honestly thought Russia would at first ban the sale of the Sims 4.

I thought so too. "Promoting homosexuality" is downright illegal there, they're being terribly lenient this time around.

 

[DinohScene]

I thought so too. "Promoting homosexuality" is downright illegal there, they're being terribly lenient this time around.

A bit to lenient, seeing it is Putin we're talking about ._.
Putin finally came to its senses?
Or is he secretly planning to pump the profits from the sales into the Ukraine crisis?