The new season of Love Island has just been released and guess what? We’re seeing the same unattainable ideals of beauty and shape. Love Island has been known to be extremely restrictive when it came to presenting what “beautiful” looks like. In an era, when we warrant diversity in all arenas – race, sexuality, ability – Love Island still seems to be falling short.
The latest season of the series has touted itself as having “the most diverse line-up yet” but Ex Love-Island stars and the general public would beg to differ. And why wouldn’t they? Love Island has proved time and time again that diversity is not on their agenda and the limited diversity they do present – such as that with a disabled contestant – is mere tokenism.
Season two contestant, Malin Andersson has taken to Instagram to express her disappointment. In a photo, just from a couple of years ago, Malin expressed the show’s lack of diversity and how her audience should not internalize restrictive body images presented by the show. In retrospect, she commented, “[There’s] pressure to look and feel the same way everyone else does. When I say this, I speak from a place of insecurity [that] I once had and pain. The pressure to be compared to others whether that be from my season or there-after. There was a constant push of who would be successful and when not reaching that, there would be a huge amount of unworthiness and wondering if what was wrong with me.”
We love a self-aware queen.
Similarly, doctor, mental health advisor and season four contestant Dr. Alex George also made an Instagram post about “being kind”. He cutely posted a photo of himself this year, to draw a stark contrast to his body during the show two years ago. It’s wonderful to see him use his platform for body-positivity awareness with the rise in conversation about mental health and the Adonis complex amongst men.
Alex also stressed in his post, to not bash the contestants up, reminding people that the cast’s loved ones back home can see negative comments. The rise in conversation around mental health also comes after the death of Mike Thalasstis, Sophie Gradon and Caroline Flack.
“Love Island is back on tv tonight and I know so many are excited to have the show back on our screens,” he said. “Don’t panic, this photo isn’t a sign that I am going back on the island… I just wanted to post a gentle reminder to be kind online. Particularly when it comes to body image and appearance. I am proud of how I look in the photo above. I am happy and healthy. Let’s celebrate ALL body shapes and sizes.” Yes!
Recently, self-love activist Megan Jayne Crabbe took to Instagram to actually pin down the problem of lack of body diversity on the show. In an Instagram reel, Megan promulgated that the skin-deep ideas about body positivity are far from real. In the same vein, she expressed how self-worth, although in the microcosm of society may be seen by the size of one’s body, one’s worth should never be reduced by “how many heads turn for you”. This could be any truer. Why must their be “one right way” to body sizes? Every body is real, and every body is beautiful.
Alex Light made a reel about how all bodies are beautiful. In the video, we see a number of key messages such as the fact that the contestants are not a “cross-section of society” and how the cookie-cut models should not “harm [our] relationship with [our] bodies”.