There’s nothing like a new season of Love Island to unleash all of our deepest insecurities about how we look — especially when it comes to body image. And, as the girls proved on last night’s first episode of the new series, men aren’t exempt from this scrutiny.
While discussing their new pairings, Kaz Kamwi suggested that she’d be more into the other half of her couple, Toby Aromolaran, if he were a little more into the gym, wishing he was 'a bit more "gim-my,"' and earlier in the episode, she implied he wasn't really her type because he didn't go the gym (although did then admit that as a semi-professional footballer, he was still going to be fairly athletic) . At the same time,Faye Winterwas going on about the boys getting down to the gym early, and a narrative thread throughout the episode involved pressuring the boys to work hard in the gym so they look good.
There’s a lot to unpack here, but first of all I’d like to say: if you think body positivity and wider diversity initiatives have solved society’s obsession with the shape and size of people’s bodies — think again. Because, if we really do care about normalising the wide variety of body types that exist within society, this must be inclusive to people of all genders and body types. Yes, that means men too.
In 2021, it’s hard to imagine a situation in which — if the genders were reversed in this scenario — there wouldn’t be outrage online. The idea of a group of men sitting around and critiquing women’s bodies feels pretty grim, because guess what, it would be grim. Not to mention triggering for all of those among us who suffer from poor body image. But if that is the case, we must also expect the same from women’s conversations about men’s bodies. There can be no double standard when it comes to body positivity.
And before you say ‘you can’t control what you’re attracted to!’ or ‘it’s society that teaches people to be attracted to unrealistic body types and standards! It’s not their fault!’ You’re right. Both of those things are true. But producers of the show have a responsibility to their audiences not to promote dangerous opinions and scenes of people pressuring others when it comes to their bodies. Especially in a year when the shows’ bosses have urged people to “be kind” when posting about contestants, in a bid to reduce the sort of online bullying and harassment that has negatively impacted past islanders.
I ask: if you truly care about the psychological impact the show has on those taking part and those viewing, islanders should be encouraged not to be critical of one another’s bodies by producers, or at the very least, these scenes should not be shared with the general public.
In a year when eating disorders are reported to have thrived during lockdown, with high-profile reality TV-related tragedies such as the death of former Big Brother contestant, Nikki Grahame, from anorexia, we must all be vigilant about the pressure we are placing on people to be look a certain way, regardless of the motivation. If you want further evidence, former islanders Shaughna Phillips and Laura Crane, have recently spoken up about their own struggles with eating disorders.
The stakes could hardly be higher because here’s the thing: eating disorders and other serious mental health disorders don’t discriminate. They can affect you regardless of your gender, body type, age, race or social standing.
We know that the promotion of unattainable beauty and body standards fuels disordered eating, which is precisely why so many brands and modelling campaigns have set out to challenge this. We also know that apps such as Instagram, where many of the contestants have big followings, are influential in the proliferation of the ‘filtered’ and ‘unrealistic’ bodies that cause many to believe if they don’t look like the people they see in the images, there is something ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’ about them. If we care about the impact of this on women, then the same should be true of men, who often feel pressure to have ‘gym bods’ and are also susceptible to eating disorders.
After what has been an incredibly emotionally challenging year for everyone, the last thing we need are more things to feel bad about. Recognising our own contradictions as humans is a crucial part of learning. Equality when it comes to mental health means recognising that EVERYBODY has the right to live in a world where they are safe and free from discrimination. Love Island producers take note: this means men, too.
For help, support and advice with eating disorders, you can contact BEAT via their helpline (0808 801 0677) and website.