Love Island’s Shannon Singh: ‘Me… An Asian Sex Symbol? It’s About Bloody Time’

I’m Shannon Singh, and I’m a proud Asian woman. My dad is Indian, born in England, my grandparents are from India and my mum is Scottish. You might ask why I feel the need to justify or explain my heritage, but, sadly, I’ve been sent death threats online for claiming to be an Asian girl.

Let’s be honest, you probably know me from my stint on Love Island{ =nofollow}. But Asian representation is a far bigger discussion, so I don’t just want to focus on my time in the villa. And frankly, it’d be reductive to focus on just one reality show. Yes, going on Love Island and being the first South Asian woman in the original line up is something that I feel very proud of, but it also shouldn’t be something we celebrate. We need to tackle the stigma around Asian women being sexy and the lack of representation that we receive in the media.

For example, growing up, I would not be able to name you a pin up girl who was Asian. You had your Katie Price, your Kelly Brook, your Pamela Anderson, but I struggle to think of the well-known Asian sex symbols and bombshells in the world of showbiz. Asian women were never really characterised as being sexy.

When I was younger, I did feel like I struggled with my ethnic identity because I was made to feel like I was not allowed to identify myself as being Asian. I loved Bollywood but I also loved the celebrity culture across mainstream media and wondered where I fitted in as the two are worlds apart. I would struggle to name a page 3 model or ‘It Girl’ that looked like me, but they looked more like my mum – who is white.

Since coming off Love Island, I’ve been so overwhelmed by the number of positive messages from other Asian women who have told me that I have given them confidence to be sexy. But with the positives, there have also been negatives. I’ve been on the receiving end of severe abuse because of my last name. I am constantly questioned about it and told that I do not deserve my surname – that I don’t deserve to be me. Why? Because I’m proud of my body, my sexuality. I have also been called a ‘half breed’, ‘a slut’ etc for celebrating myself and my body as an Asian woman.

And I’ve even had people tell me I’m not Asian, as if I should be ashamed of myself for being sexy and for owning my body. But what does sexy even mean? Apparently, the proper definition of sexy is ‘sexually attractive or exciting’. However, sexy to me, means so much more than that. To me, being sexy, is feeling sexy, it means to be confident in one’s skin and to celebrate their own self. And I am proud to be called sexy, because it’s about time we saw Asian women being referred to as ‘sexually attractive and exciting’. Me? An Asian sex symbol… Well yeah, it’s about bloody time.

To reiterate, I am not going to bash Love Island{ =nofollow}. I’m not going to slam the show or producers or attempt to get more headlines for accusing them of misrepresentation. We need to do better together in society to stop ticking boxes and to start having conversations that will lead to change. And that’s why I’m using my five minutes of fame to discuss them.

When it becomes more organic to see sexy Asian women in mainstream media, that’s when I will celebrate. It’s why shows like We Are Lady Parts are so important too, breaking those stigmas down and the stereotypes of Asian women in mainstream media on Channel 4. Because, still, in 2021, people are shocked to hear that I am an Asian party girl who likes to DJ: who’s favourite music is techno and house, who used to be a glamour model, who is Twitch gamer and had an OnlyFans account (the savvy business woman in me). But I’m like: why are you shocked? It’s me.

Shannon Singh is currently running the #ILOVEMINE campaign on her Instagram page{=nofollow}****, encouraging people to post positive messages about themselves.

READ MORE: Love Island's Shannon Singh On Finally Taking Ownership Of Her Body