Why Love Island (Occasionally) Shares a Good Message

by Miranda Gent

New girl Rebecca Gormley arrived in the Love Island villa this week and instantly sparked interest when viewers noticed that she was wearing a patch on her upper thigh.

There was great speculation as to what the purpose of the patch could be but the general consensus is that it is most likely to be a contraceptive patch, which functions in the same way as the combined pill but is perhaps easier and less stressful to use, although it could also potentially be a nicotine patch due to the villa’s strict regulations on smoking, but these are typically worn on the upper arm.

Regardless, the idea that Rebecca could openly and unashamedly be wearing a form of contraception on her leg has sparked controversy on social media, with some people claiming that she has, “no class”, or, “decorum” and asserting that this demonstrated her, “gross”, intentions to have sex in the villa - a place which happens to be well-stocked with condoms and accustomed to sex-scenes. In fact, the unjust nature of these comments is blinding - Love Island is a dating reality TV show consisting of a group of young men and women - surely sex is inevitable in this situation? And shouldn’t we be praising Rebecca for taking the precaution of contraception and looking after her sexual health in the villa? Thankfully, people are. However, for me, the sting of the negative comments regarding Rebecca’s personal choice remains unappeased by the positivity as someone arrogantly and ignorantly claimed on twitter, “we all know she’s only come here for one thing”, and someone else chimed in to say, “guess we know what she’s come to the villa for lol”.

Other than strongly disliking the stark misogyny in these claims and comments, I also take issue with them as the contraceptive patch has many medical roles other than preventing pregnancies such as reducing period pains and easing conditions such as endometriosis and PCOS.

Therefore, I would argue that the function of the unknown patch on Rebecca’s leg is nobody’s business and the overwhelming expressions of outrage and disgust on social media demonstrate an evidently persistent streak of misogyny in today’s culture which I find frightening and abusive.

However, I must also acknowledge the support and championing that Rebecca has received online as people have felt boosted by her wearing a contraceptive patch on an internationally watched TV show. In fact, this simple act seems to have given people the confidence to speak up about and discuss their own forms of contraception as well as express their happiness at seeing both a young woman taking control of her body and sex life and a young woman exposing a lesser-known form of contraception that is invaluable to some people and also potentially a form of emabrassement for them.

Certainly, many people on social media were seen to be thanking and praising Rebecca:

“So happy to see Rebecca on Love Island wearing a contraceptive patch, so many people don’t know they are a thing and it makes me feel a lot less self-conscious about mine now.”

“Are people really this bothered that Rebecca might have the contraceptive patch on her thigh?? Lmao grow up not everyone is able to take the pill for health reasons and at least she’s being safe.”

“Let’s not shame Rebecca for wearing a contraceptive patch shall we? I wore one for 8 years due to hormonal imbalances and endometriosis but also SO WHAT if she wants to have sex???”.

These messages of support and solidarity certainly make me feel extremely relieved that others found the merciless criticism of Rebecca as uncomfortable and angering to read as I did - but I still can’t quite believe that in 2020 there can be so much opposition against a woman being open and diligent about her sexuality and I desperately hope that this is a trend that will change soon and that the messages of love and more numerous than those of hate. However, regardless of the outcome, I would like to praise Love Island for giving women a platform to express their sexuality, but more importantly I would like to thank Rebecca for being brave enough to wear the contraceptive patch on such a famous TV show as it’s clear that many women have been inspired by this courageous and daring move and that the conversation about women’s contraceptive methods has been rekindled on a huge scale, which can only be a very positive thing.