Love Island is Educational
On Tuesday night’s Love Island, earnest ex-school teacher Hugo got himself into a spot of bother. When asked what female attributes were a turn off, he said “Fake” sparking a spat between himself and the numerous boobjobbed contestants.
26 year old Faye, who has fake boobs, lips and botox told Hugo that he couldn’t judge her choices when he didn’t understand why she’d had “work” done in the first place. She went on to explain (whilst wielding a plastic prosecco glass) that she’d had insecurities about her body triggered, no doubt by society’s expectations of beauty standards.
Hugo (and myself) were mortified for judging. This remarkably sensitive moment from ITV2 is jarring against the near constant dialogue of “what’s your type” followed by the “petite blonde with dark features” response.
Equally interesting is that contestants Jake and Libby have accelerated through every stage of a 2 year relationship in the space of a week. Over 7 days they’ve gone from coyly getting to know each other, to “we’re the same person and so in sync”, to time for pastures new.
This has proved to me that Love Island is educational on two fronts. 1. It shouldn’t be “it is what it is” — labelling people as “types” is not inclusive or sensitive without context and 2. Time is relative and, not all time is created equal
Ready yourself for a seamless analogy to transportation….
People are a product of their experiences, their experiences a product of their very particular context.
In Belle Glade, Florida — a rural, predominantly African American community will need either a car or $2 and two hours via 34 stops to get to a Covid-19 vaccination clinic. Two hours for some, is an untenable time to give up when balancing a low paid, inflexible job and childcare. For others, two hours could mean driving to a long weekend in the Cotswolds and already be two glasses of Pinot Grigio down.
The frequency and affordability of transportation options plays a significant role in shaping context — becoming a driver of multiple, overlapping forms of inequity. Simply speaking, your job impacts your income. Your income impacts where you can live. Where you live impacts the jobs…
