Last week, Women’s Aid issued a statement criticising ITV’s reality show Love Island, claiming that the show perpetuates misogyny and sexism.
It came after one of the contestants, Harrison Solomon, slept with his partner, whom he had coupled with in Casa Amor, only to recouple the following day with a different girl.
However, the statement also highlighted how the male contestants have repeatedly lied, and treat their couples as a game, disrespecting boundaries, then laughing with one another.
They emphasised how this behaviour is more than just being ‘disrespectful’, and that the behaviour is all rooted in misogyny.
Women’s Aid are not alone in their outcry, as following their statement, Ofcom has confirmed that this year’s series had over 1000 complaints. Figures confirmed that over half of the complaints were made about last Friday’s episode (mentioned above).
Why does this matter
Often when behaviours shown on reality TV shows are labelled as concerning, it is brushed off as ‘not that deep’ or ‘just a show’. The issue with acting oblivious to these behaviours is that they are not just on a TV show.
These men are handpicked by producers, screened, and put through a background check. This means that the producers have deemed them decent enough men to be on national television.
If these men are deemed as decent enough to be on live television, it means that they appear to be respectful men who will make good partners.
In turn, when we watch television, particularly a dating show, it projects and reflects real-life behaviours and practices, as after all, these are regular men.
Ofcom has received over 1,000 complaints this year, with over 200 surrounding the treatment of one girl, Shakira, who viewers feel are being ganged up on by the men in the villa.
‘Villa Bro’s’
This year, more than ever, we have seen the men in the Villa form alliances, where they often cover for each other, justify each other’s behaviour and claim ‘you haven’t done anything wrong’
The real issue we are seeing is what Cass Sunstein called ‘echo chambers’. An echo chamber is an environment where participants encounter beliefs that amplify and reinforce their preexisting beliefs.
We see this issue in many episodes, where the boys justify behaviour that disrespects boundaries, reinforcing the belief that ‘I’ve done nothing wrong’.
One notable example comes from contestant Dejon, who would reiterate that he and partner Meg were ‘open’ anytime his behaviour upset her.
The boys in the villa would always regurgitate this statement back to him, justifying the disrespect he showed for his partner.
This echo chamber hindered the boys’ critical thinking, so they could not consider why Meg would be upset by that behaviour. The boys would never consider Meg’s point of view and therefore enable Dejon to continue this behaviour.
“I’ve got a younger sister and I’m close with my mum”
When Harrison came out of the Villa and has since been confronted with the statement Women’s Aid released about him, his response was “It’s not nice, especially when I’ve got a younger sister, and I’m close with my mum as well.”
This statement was previously brought up in the Villa by islander Cach, who said to Harrison, “Think if that was your little sister.”
Although islander Cach has not appeared disrespectful or misogynistic to the women in the villa, there is an issue with the precedent set by saying that.
By referring back to family ties, it indicates that men should respect women, only in relation to their proximity to men, as someone’s sister, daughter or mother.
This reinforces the idea that women are ultimately valuable through their relationships with men, rather than deserving of respect in their own right.
It also suggests that empathy and respect are conditional, which perpetuates patriarchal values.
Performative masculinity
The behaviours shown in the villa reflect broader issues around performative masculinity explored by Judith Butler, highlighting how the men’s behaviour is not inherent, but rather enacted due to societal structures and reinforcement by peers.
One example comes from Harry, who is the oldest boy in the villa at 30 years old. It appeared that Harrison, who was only 22, looked up to Harry and mirrored a lot of his behaviours.
Harry gave Harrison the nickname ‘Young bull’, which was seen as a badge of honour, the name suggesting that, like a bull, Harrison would destroy whatever he needed to to get what he wanted.
This performance of ‘masculinity’ made it appear that being destructive and harmful to women was a positive thing that was rewarded.
Internalised misogyny within the girls
There has been a massive focus on the boys’ behaviour this year on Love Island; however, this season has also shown a manifestation of internalised misogyny among many of the girls.
Internalised misogyny is used to highlight when a woman subconsciously absorbs misogynistic ideas and acts them out either towards themselves or towards women.
So far this season, we have seen the girls compete for the attention and validation of the boys in the villa. Due to the breadcrumbing, emotional manipulation, and gaslighting, the girls in the villa have seen each other as competition.
A direct result of this is that there is now a perceived ‘split’ between the girl friendship groups.
We have also seen the girls invalidate each other’s feelings, make fun of each other and fail to stick up for one another.
One example of this is when Lauren was mocked by the other girls for ‘moving too fast’ with Harrison.
We also saw Shakira upset with no comfort from all the girls due to Helena, being Harry‘s partner, and it was Harry who had upset her.
What does the show reflect?
Many online have said that the show reflects current dating practices and behaviour of men.
One of the most prevalent changes in Love Island can be seen in the behaviour of the men in Casa Amor.
Where once only one or two boys strayed from their couples, in recent years, almost all of the boys have recoupled or ‘explored their options’.
This reflects a mindset of ‘grass is greener’ but also indicates a lack of respect for women.
These dating habits and practices indicate that nationwide, men fall into these categories of belittling women and validating their friends who disrespect women.
Is it finally time for Love Island to rebrand? Or are we just seeing the truth around current dating in the UK?
