Megan Barton Hanson Exclusive: ‘I Find It Baffling That Love Island Have Completely Removed The Sex Scenes’

Remember when Love Island first started and it was all arguing, shagging and chain-smoking fuelled gossip sessions round the firepit? A lot has changed since then. From editing out physical fights to banning smoking, each season producers have gone one step further protect viewers – and islanders – from outside commentary that could be negative. Their big change this year? No sex scenes.

We’ve seen rumblings under covers and the odd shot of intermingled feet, but by and large we’re a world away from the nightly group humping sessions of season two - where one Islander actually provided punditry on sex between two others. It’s not like they’re not having it, or at least are open about wanting it, with Maura Higgins revealing in last night’s episode that she was ‘getting impatient’ waiting to have sex with Curtis Pritchard because she, in her words, is a ‘horny devil’.

For former Islander Megan Barton Hanson, who is leading Ann Summers Pleasure Positivity Project to close the orgasm gap between men and women, cutting the sex scenes is baffling. Not just because it’s less entertaining, which many viewers have complained about, but also because it adds to the stigma around women enjoying sex by implying it’s something we should be ashamed of.

‘It’s really annoying because I felt like I’d make such positive movements and I really tried to defend myself and other women like me who do enjoy sex and are open about it,’ she told Grazia, ‘we shouldn’t be shamed, and men talk about it all the time so the fact they've completely taken it out of this year’s Love Island is baffling. I don't understand why.’

According to The Sun, ITV have chosen not to air sex scenes for fear of upsetting Islanders and ‘ruining their lives’. After the sexual antics of season two Islander Zara Holland saw her lose her Miss GB title and claims having sex on TV ‘destroyed her life’, the producers are clearly responding to feedback from former contestants themselves.

'Everyone is being extra careful about the well-being of the cast and how they will deal with the aftermath if their sex scenes are shown,’ a source told the publication, ‘Most of them have said they're not comfortable with their sex scenes being broadcast and bosses have taken it all into account - many go on to regret having sex on camera because of how they're viewed by the public and their employers.’

Of course, it is perfectly reasonable to protect Islanders that don’t want those scenes aired. But, it does illuminate a problem with how we view sex in society and what it takes to end that stigma.

Each season this problem is illuminated on Love Island, with instances of slut-shaming often coming up, and for Megan it’s only gotten worse this year. ‘The girls are so scared,’ she says, ‘I've noticed this year Maura was like "no I’ve never had a one-night stand in my life" which is fair enough, but why is she saying it like it’s a bad thing?’

Considering Maura is the most sexually open contestant on the show, it shows just how embedded internal shame around female sexuality is in our society, especially when feelings such as Maura’s are validated by her friends – which they were in that same instance. Moments after revealing she has slept with six people, Molly-Mae Hague responded with shock that the number was so low, saying ‘I’m so proud of you’.

‘Oh my god that really annoyed me,’ Megan added, ‘when she said "keep that number low" too, because if it was a man and they said 100 they'd be like “oh yeah go on lad”’

It’s an interesting point, and clearly there are conversations to be had about female sexuality on platforms like Love Island which tend to function as a public sounding board for every day issues and injustices between men and women. It shows that, if Love Island choose to not air sex scenes in an attempt to protect Islanders, they need to find another way to ensure conversations about sex on the show move on from the problematic narrative repeated every year. Maybe they could finally switch up the sexist challenges that perpetuate these attitudes for a start.

Megan Barton-Hanson leads Ann Summers’ Pleasure Positivity Project, a campaign breaking down the stigma surrounding women’s enjoyment of sex. For more information visit – www.annsummers.com/pleasure

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