In the eight years since Love Island first crashed onto our screens like a reality TV wrecking ball, it’s become a cliche to describe it as “toxic”. “Toxic relationships”. “Toxic bullying”. Most of all, “toxic masculinity”. In the last fortnight, after some particularly dramatic, tear-soaked scenes, a new term has been added to this illustrious list: “toxic femininity”. But... do we even know what “toxic femininity” really means?
In the past, there have been numerous complaints about “toxic” behaviour from male contestants. Adam Collard calling Rosie Williams “needy”. Jordan Hames cracking on with India Reynolds two days after staging an elaborate girlfriend proposal for Anna Vakili. The actions of every dude inducted into the hall of infamy known as “Destiny’s Chaldish”. This seemed to peak last summer when Luca Bish and Dami Hope were accused of bullying Tasha Ghouri, prompting Women’s Aid to criticise the show for depicting “misogynistic and controlling behaviour”. The annual tradition of Movie Night, in which clips of private antics are broadcast to the show’s entire cast, also sparked an Ofcom storm.
