This week, conversation around Love Island started to feel strangely familiar, as speculation around the female contestants past cosmetic surgery grew. Google trends for ‘before and after’ (surgery) relating to Love Island have increased 105.58 per cent this week. In addition, there is a spike at 9pm (when the show airs) for ‘before and after’ Love Island specific searches. In the last few hours, searches for ‘Amy Love Island Teeth’ are up 400 per cent, ‘Maura Love Island Before and After’ has increased by 350 per cent, while ‘Amber Love Island surgery’ is a breakout term
Almost exactly 12 months ago, the internet was engaging in exactly the same conversations about 2018 contestant Megan Barton Hanson, with speculation online – and in the papers - about the extent of her cosmetic surgery reaching fever pitch. ‘Every lad in the villa should have this picture of Megan sent to their phones and then lets sic] see if they fancy her,’ tweeted one great philosopher at the time.
And while the social media chat around her decision to have surgery reeked of misogyny, Megan has since revealed in comments made to Grazia magazine after leaving the villa that she never anticipated the sort of reaction she got. ‘What I didn’t realise was that people would pick me apart for having surgery.
‘The hate and negativity really did shock me. Loads of people have had surgery – with reality shows like Towie, Geordie Shore, MIC, the Kardashians, - it’s more common to have surgery than not have surgery. So that was the most shocking thing.’
Megan’s own reaction to the backlash is a stark reminder that treating plastic surgery like a moral, rather than aesthetic choice is a dangerous road to go down. And criticising women for choices they’ve made when those choices may well have been fueled by criticism they’ve received for their looks in the first place feels like a pretty hopeless place to be. It’s worth noting that 'Megan Barton Hanson before surgery' is still a breakout term today, so whether it’s Maura in 2019, or Megan in 2018, it really doesn’t look like we’ve moved on much in the last 12 months.