Should Love Island be cancelled over the misogynistic views of some contestants?

The British reality show brings together a large group of attractive people in their 20s and 30s, houses them in a villa in Spain and expects them to date each other. 

While some couples do indeed find love within the walls of the luxurious villa, the show is also known for its acrimonious breakups and arguments. 

Women’s Aid has raised concerns about the “unhealthy patterns of behaviour” seen on the show, although it acknowledged it is symptomatic of society as a whole. 

“Women are often lied to, slut-shamed and manipulated, as well as laughed at behind their backs,” a spokesperson said. 

“Misogyny and sexism lay the foundation for the tolerance of abuse and violence – it reinforces a culture that excuses and trivialises violence against women and girls.” 

On The Pat Kenny Show, Goss.ie founder Ali Ryan described herself as a “fan” of the programme - but admitted the female contestants do not always have an easy time. 

“If there were rules that women in general were only allowed to date men that had been psychoanalysed first, that would make dating the world very easy,” she argued. 

“Unfortunately, that’s not reality and this is a reality show and the job of the producers of these shows, in my opinion, is to accurately reflect what goes on in society. 

“This is just what modern dating is, unfortunately, like; there is manipulation, there is lying, there is bad behaviour.” 

 

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Tinder. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Despite this, Ms Ryan believes there is a “positive” aspect to revealing this type of behaviour. 

“Young women are watching this show and going, ‘That’s not okay’,” she said. 

“So, I actually think it’s a positive thing that we’re seeing this.”

A love triangle. Picture by: Alamy.com.

She continued that Love Island has improved in recent years and that the team behind the show are now much more supportive of contestants. 

“In the last few years, you can very much see there’s a care team in that villa,” she said. 

“And there’s psychologists and there’s counselors there. 

“Normally, when a very difficult situation happens where a man has treated a woman very, very badly, you’ll see the girl crying. 

“By the next episode, she’s very defiant and very outspoken that that behaviour is not acceptable.” 

Sometimes, most likely after pressure from the Love Island producers, the man will end up apologising for his behaviour. 

“So, the storyline ends up in a way where we all see women standing up for themselves, with men being sorrowful,” Ms Ryan said. 

“Unfortunately, we just don’t see that in reality.” 

Main image: The Love Island logo. Picture by: Love Island.