That's odd, Mage, because my first family gets the SAME pay...AND...the guy does MOST of the housework because my female is a workaholic. I'm sorry, but I do not agree with you.

I definitely can't agree with Magestaff either. How many game slots are your using? Maybe you should start another game to see you if get the inequity.

I haven't found what you're talking about in any of my slots.

The "little people" do not all work the same way even if they do have the exact same job. They take more naps when their energy is low, they eat (snack) more when they're hungry....etc.,etc. There is a randomness in this game and all the VV games too that you simply cannot break down into a cut and dried concept of equality.

Since the promotion happened while you were away it's impossible for you to know how much work was done and who did it.

And honestly.......do you really think that someone that would take such care to give us such an incredibly loving game as this one is (from the emails to the pets to the waves from our wee ones) would ever, ever have a male character make more than a female character for the same work?

Sorry....I have much more faith in Arthur to believe that. Personally, I would much rather have them with random quirks that truly seem to make them more human than a blah pixel character.

Um...I have alot of faith in Carla that she wouldn't let him

Joking aside, you make a good point

In my game, Felella is a little further behind in progress on her career, but that's because she's taken care of two kids for two years each (one she's still caring for)! Plus, she and Zest are both at Apprentice level. Zest gets higher pay, but that's because his job is simply higher paying. And just a moment ago I saw Zest dusting the furniture - with no prompt from me.

I just don't see the inequality of which you speak. (And trust me, if I did, I'd have issue with it)

Three slots so far, and the inequality seemed for me to be present before any of the couples had children - so they can't use the mom with children excuse.

Maybe it is just that the peeps (men and women both) have differing priorities, but I sort of wish that the women were a bit more work oriented.

I have one slot going in which there are currently no children. My female has made it to level 3 and does housework frequently. I rarely have to praise her at all. My male, on the other hand, sits around watching TV or reading newspapers and magazines constantly, rarely does the housework and is still at the beginning of level 2. I praise him and give him candy or fruit whenever I see him working, but honestly he seems to fail his cycle more than the female. In another slot, the situation is reversed. I really don't think that the issue is gender based, but rather individually based. It seems you may just have been unlucky that the lazy gene hit your female rather than your male.

Age seems to play a role too; I had the feeling the older ones earn a bit more than the youngers ones do.

Two of the women are older by anywhere from 2 year to 5 years, so it must just be the lazy gene in my women as mentioned. I am trying to praise them for working, but praise too much they get aggravated that you are nagging them.

People used to say this about all media: “It’s a just a movie, lighten up! It’s just a commercial, lighten up!” It’s only recently that people have begun to take the media seriously and recognize the strong effects it has on our socialization. The media is more powerful than you may think!

Precisely, if that is all the women can do while caring for a child, then the women are taking on the majority of unpaid labour. This is not equality.

Keyword here being “choose”. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a woman, or a man, choosing to stay home and care for children. Where I object, is the sexist thinking that boxes in men and women. Men are trained through various forms of socialization (including the media and games) that they must grow up, marry a woman, and support the household. Women are trained to grow up, marry a man, raise children and take on the majority of the unpaid labour.

Where this game goes wrong is that it boxes in the women. The women are not portrayed as choosing to halt their careers and stay home with children for 2 years. Daycare and men staying home are not options. Why is it the women who have to care for the children? Why can’t the men? I’m just asking questions here.

That being said, I’m not trying to attack the creators of the game here. We all live in a patriarchal society and I’m not going to put the responsibility of erradicating sexism on the creators of the game. However, I do believe it’s important that we are critical of the media.