You either hate it or love it and season eight is giving us many reasons to dislike the popular dating show.
Every night, at nine o’clock, I take to Twitter to see people’s opinions in real time of what we are watching on screen.
Twitter is an excellent platform where you are able to share your takes on the show and chat with other viewers about what is going on. This year in particular viewers are expressing their anger at the behaviour and attitudes of some of the Islanders through Twitter.
Misogyny and mad moves
Viewers, Women’s Aid and Refuge have called out the misogynistic double standards and casual sexism experienced by the Love Island girls this season. The fact that this behaviour has prompted responses from charities that support victims of domestic violence is alarming and should not be taken lightly.
Unfortunately, this is not a case of ‘a bad apple’ not treating his partner right. Instead, multiple boys in the villa are guilty of this and most of the girls were subjected to it.
When watching the show you will find a seemingly endless amount of examples of misogynistic behaviour. Two prominent examples are the treatment of Islanders Ekin-Su and Tasha.
The boys consistently shame Ekin-Su for her very short ‘fling’ with Jay and make her out to be untrustworthy. Her time with Jay is something which they do not fail to remind her of. That seems hypocritical of the boys considering their conduct this season, especially during Casa Amor, being worse than that of all the girls.
As for Tasha, her experience is like Ekin-Su’s yet extends further, with viewers claiming that some fellow islanders have bullied Tasha. Tasha is coupled up with Andrew and throughout their time in the villa they have had many hurdles, and thankfully now seem to be going well. However, that did not stop some of the boys from picking at the couple’s insecurities and generally making Tasha upset.
Overall, the boys’ behaviour this season has been disappointing and is not something we should be encouraging. This kind of behaviour should not be displayed on national television. It reinforces misogynistic double standards and may in turn cause some to believe these attitudes are appropriate.
Deliberation
It would be hypocritical of me to solely criticise Love Island when it is probably one of my biggest guilty pleasures – behind The Kardashians of course. I’m a lover of trash reality TV, and Love Island for the most part provides the kind of entertainment and drama I want.
Of course part of me would be upset to see the show go. I have watched it since the beginning and was just as obsessed with it then as I am now. However, I am also a firm believer in the saying that ‘all good things must come to an end’ and it is always better to end things on good terms.
Unfortunately for Love Island, many of its other seasons have received backlash for inappropriate behaviour. Back in 2018, during season four, Women’s Aid spoke out about Adam Collard’s (an ex-Islander) emotionally manipulative behaviour. Flash forward to 2022 where Women’s Aid continue to take issue with actions seen on Love Island.
Evidently there is a pattern of misogyny and general disrespect towards women on the show which needs addressing.
Besides that, Love Island was previously scrutinised for a lack of diversity, in terms of body types, ethnic backgrounds, physical abilities and so on. Yet more reasons why we should say goodbye to the show.
The Verdict
Although I am a Love Island mega fan, I can still be objective when necessary. The show has undoubtedly given us many iconic moments and phrases. A personal favourite of mine being Chloe Burrows’ “no whey” from season seven of the series.
Despite this, its iconic moments can be overshadowed by its controversial ones. The behaviour seen on season eight should not be repeated in any future seasons. To say these issues are solely Love Island and ITV issues would be wrong. Misogyny and sexism are societal issues that reach far beyond the reality show.
In essence, the best way to not promote these misogynistic behaviours is to end the show before anything worse happens, all the while acknowledging there were some great moments and it was once a beloved show.