1 Aug 2025
Harmless Entertainment or Manufacturing Misogyny
Love Island promises sunshine, flirtation and the thrill of televised romance, but behind the glowy villa lights is a tightly controlled production machine that carefully creates an environment designed not only to reflect reality, but to shape it. The show is deliberately edited and produced to deliver a specific narrative, often at the expense of contestants' emotional wellbeing and dignity. Despite its glossy exterior, Love Island perpetuates coercive behaviours, gendered power dynamics, and emotional manipulation that echo the broader cultural conditions of rape culture.
From the outset, the show creates a limited and narrow portrayal of who is seen as desirable. Contestants almost exclusively conform to rigid body standards and heterosexual pairings, reinforcing outdated ideals of who is dateable. These norms serve the storyline, not reality. As Alicia Denby explains, Love Island upholds heteronormative scripts where men are emotionally distant and dominant, while women are cast as irrational or unstable. These stereotypes are harmful; they are the cultural scripts that underpin gender-based violence and maintain power imbalances.
This season has seen a disturbing escalation in emotionally manipulative behaviour from male contestants. Harrison Solomon’s frequent “switch-ups” between partners and Ben Halbrough’s dismissive, often cruel jokes are prime examples. Such conduct is rarely challenged within the villa, and even more rarely in the editing room. Producers downplay the harm and instead package it as entertainment. Gaslighting is also rampant, women who raise concerns are routinely told they are overreacting or creating drama, echoing real-world tactics used to undermine and control. As Denby notes, Love Island repeatedly portrays women who express valid emotional responses as crazy, reinforcing harmful myths about women’s irrationality.
These patterns haven’t gone unnoticed. Viewers lodged over 1,000 complaints to Ofcom, and organisations like Women’s Aid have spoken out about the show’s normalisation of abuse. Yet the producers continue to rely on the same formula. Although there have been some interventions like Host, Maya Jama calling out inappropriate comments, the overarching structure remains unchanged. As Fleurine Tideman aptly puts it, watching Love Island now “feels like scrolling through Andrew Tate’s TikTok FYP.”
ITV, the network behind Love Island, claims to take its duty of care seriously, with what it describes as “extensive protocols” in place to protect contestants. These include psychological evaluations, training on appropriate language and behaviour, and ongoing welfare support before, during, and after filming. Since 2019, ITV has bolstered its aftercare provisions, including access to therapy and social media training to help contestants cope with public scrutiny. These measures are a necessary response to rising public concern and past tragedies associated with the show.
However, protocols alone do not dismantle the cultural conditions that Love Island both draws from and reproduces. The show exists within a media landscape where emotional manipulation and toxic masculinity are normalised, particularly for entertainment.
Reality television is not created in a vacuum; it is both a mirror and a magnifier of broader cultural norms. While ITV’s protocols may mitigate individual harm, they do little to challenge the cultural norms that lead to harm in the first place. Love Island doesn’t just reflect problematic dynamics, it actively shapes and reinforces them, particularly those rooted in rape culture. Through its casting choices, editing, and storylines, it privileges a narrow, heteronormative ideal of relationships where men’s dominance and emotional unavailability are normalised, and women’s emotional expression is pathologised.
Love Island doesn't just entertain, it educates. It teaches audiences to laugh at emotional abuse, to expect dominance from men and deference from women, and to see coercion as a natural part of courtship. Its influence extends far beyond the villa walls, subtly shaping how we understand intimacy, power, and consent.
Despite its shimmering surface and PR-friendly aftercare policies, the show remains a masterclass in emotional manipulation and gendered harm. If we want a culture where relationships are grounded in respect, mutuality, and care, we must stop calling this harm “entertainment.”
Until then, Love Island will keep doing what it does best, turning harm into ratings gold.
Information and support for anyone affected by sexual harm is available through the following services in Aotearoa:
· Wellington Rape Crisis – Free support for anyone affected by sexual violence. Call 04 801 8973 or visit wellingtonrapecrisis.org.nz
· WellStop – Crisis support and counselling for people affected by sexual harm. Call 0800 935 5786 or visit wellstop.org.nz
· HELP Auckland – Crisis support and counselling for survivors of sexual abuse. Call 0800 623 1700 or visit helpauckland.org.nz
· Safe to Talk / Kōrero Mai Ka Ora – 24/7 national sexual harm helpline. Call 0800 044 334, text 4334, or visit safetotalk.nz
· RespectEd Aotearoa – Prevention education and advice.
References
Butt, M. (2025, July 25). Love Island hit with over 1000 complaints about ‘bullying’ and ‘misogynistic’ behaviour. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/love-island-ofcom-misogyny-bullying-b2795994.html
Denby, A. (2021). Toxicity and femininity in Love Island: How reality dating shows perpetuate sexist attitudes towards women. Frontiers in Sociology, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2021.641216
Love Island outlines duty of care procedures. (2023, May 24). Press Centre. https://www.itv.com/presscentre/media-releases/love-island-outlines-duty-care-procedures
Tideman, F. (2025, July 17). Love Island 2025, brought to you by the manosphere. Glamour UK. https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/love-island-misogyny
Women’s Aid. (2025). Viewers are calling out the show for showcasing toxic male behaviour, again. And they’re not wrong. Here’s why this matters. . . Calling it out is a good thing. The fact that so many viewers are picking up on this behaviour is a sign of change. Keep talking. Keep calling it out. Keep demanding better. www.instagram.com. https://www.instagram.com/p/DMLLuZssjWo/?hl=en&img_index=2