When Love Island's Rebecca Gormley confidently wore her contraceptive patch on Wednesday night, some Twitter users were not impressed. ‘Rebecca needs to get rid of that patch switch it up to the pill before you go on telly,’ wrote one user, while another claimed that her behaviour was ‘shameless' and that she should hide her patch under her bikini.
For 10 years, I used the contraceptive Evra patch, and like Rebecca, I was shamed for wearing it out in the open. People were transfixed by it and would ask me an exhaustive list of questions like ‘what is THAT’, ‘ugh why do you have a plaster on your leg’, and, the most common, ‘but does it actually work.’ They would look at it with an air of suspicion, implying that I was brave to trust a flimsy ‘plaster’ and I should really switch to the trusty old pill.
According to the NHS website, the patch is 99 per cent effective if used correctly. It's a gentler option to the pill, as the hormones are constantly administered by a low-level dose through the sticky patch. (The pill is administered in one oral dose). But despite these advantages, it’s an unpopular choice of contraception – I only realised it was an option when a female doctor suggested I try it. The pill hadn't worked for me: I gained weight, had hormonal acne and generally didn't feel like myself. But soon after I began using the patch, my skin cleared up and I didn't have any of the nasty side effects that I’d experienced on the pill. I found it easier to manage, as you don't have to think about it every day. Instead, you wear one patch each week for three weeks, followed by a break week. Most people are concerned that it will fall off – but on the rare occasion it does, you simply stick another one back on and re-start your cycle.
There are other advantages with using the patch: if you're sick or have diarrhoea the hormones stay in your body as they're not absorbed by the stomach. You can have less painful and lighter periods, and if it doesn’t feel right, you can remove it immediately. (Unlike the implant or injection which has to stay in your body for a specific time).
Despite having such a positive experience, I felt embarrassed when people pointed out my patch. I would often cover it up, or hastily change the subject after I'd explained what it was. It seems absurd that we should have to respond to probing questions about our bodies and contraceptive choices, and even more so, that we actually feel ashamed of them. It is our decision to protect our bodies how we want. And if we want to wear them out in the open, then so be it. So, kudos to Rebecca for wearing her patch - ever so nonchalantly – on national television.
READ MORE: Love Island 2020: What You Need To Know