The latest series of Made in Chelsea has been nothing if not dramatic and last night’s episode has really got viewers talking.
It was revealed that Inga Valentiner has kissed Harvey Armstrong, the ex-boyfriend of Emily Blackwell, and whilst that in itself caused a stir, it was the other cast members reactions to the news that really set Twitter alight.
On hearing about their kiss, Emily and Ruby Adler called Inga 'desperate and thirsty' despite the fact that Inga was a single woman when she kissed Harvey. Yes, he’s Emily’s ex, but that’s always the case in Made in Chelsea. Plus, Emily is now dating someone else - the gorgeous Jordan for those wondering.
Fans weren’t happy about their reaction - particularly in comparison with how Sam Prince was treated when he cheated on Inga - with one viewer saying, 'Why do the girls in #MadeInChelsea always attack each other. Why can the guys cheat and all the girls defend him, but when a girl doesn’t cheat, but does kiss a boy in the group they all attack her like vultures! Come on girls! Do better!”
Another commented, “INGA IS A SINGLE BEAUTIFUL WOMAN AND CAN DO WHATEVER THE F**K SHE WANTS!”
We agree.
Look, we get that the cast of reality shows need to have big reactions to build the drama, but surely they should draw the line at tearing other women down? It'a not a great message to send that men can get away bad behaviour whilst women are 'punished' for much less.
Dr Jessica Ford, a leading researcher at the University of Newcastle, believes that television has a lot to answer for when it comes to how we perceive women. She says, 'Television is an influential medium for informing and reflecting the cultural norms of a given time. If we can understand what television is doing and saying about women’s value, work and femininity, we can better understand why we think about women how we do.'
If MIC’s younger female fans see Inga and other women on the show being punished for embracing their sexuality and single lives, then gradually they are going to start to think that they can’t do the same and that’s a problem.
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