I Kissed a Boy has shown once and for all that Love Island is homophobic

After what could only be described as the gayest weekend of my silly little life at Mighty Hoopla, the only thing that made my two-days-worth-of-alcohol hangover worth dragging myself out of bed for was the sweet promise of a massive Chinese scran, two episodes of I Kissed a Boy to binge and the start of Love Island 2023 on ITV 2. The weekend was LGBTQ in the queerest possible way, and even when you take the presence of the gayest lineup ever out of the equation, I spent a hefty portion of my time at Mighty Hoopla saying hi to the cast of I Kissed a Boy who were an absolute delight. Finishing up the final two episodes of BBC 3’s groundbreaking, Minogue fronted dating show consolidated it as one of the best new reality shows in years. Putting the launch of Love Island season 10 on straight after I Kissed a Boy consolidated how tired, old fashioned and how – as the seasons plod on – truly homophobic the show’s dismissal LGBTQ islanders as “logistically difficult” really is.

‘Logistical difficulty’

For context, these two words have haunted Love Island like a backwards, rotten smell since ITV commissioner Amanda Stavri said them back in 2021 when asked about rumours surrounding the show starting to include LGBTQ+ Islanders. “In terms of gay Islanders, I think the main challenge is regarding the format of Love Island,” she said. “There’s a sort of logistical difficulty, because although Islanders don’t have to be 100 per cent straight, the format must sort of give [them] an equal choice when coupling up.”

What Amanda means by the “don’t have t be 100 per cent straight” line is that the show won’t kick off attractive women who identify as bisexual, but probably are not going to cast a femme presenting guy who identifies as bi. Let’s call a spade a spade there.

Via ITV

Love Island airing for 10 seasons and never once trying a full bi, gay or lesbian season and having no trans representation despite the fact the show has a huge platform to represent queer communities on a mainstream national scale and chooses not to is bleak. But no matter – here comes I Kissed a Boy, a show that despite the fact it semantically makes sure it differentiates itself from Love Island where it can is essentially the BBC doing what ITV should have done years ago. And they did it spectacularly.

I Kissed a Boy was queer euphoria from beginning to end

Now all that’s left of I Kissed a Boy is a pending reunion special, a short but sweet season has wrapped in ways better than anyone was braced for. The show just did everything right. It cast a variety of diverse gays in almost every way except the London centric gripe I’ve gone on about for the past month. Instead of the Love Island villa we all learned the word masseria. Instead of recoupling we had a kiss off. Instead of bombshells, we had heartstoppers. It was familiar and groundbreaking in equal measure.

The show gave space for gays to have our messy telly era too. Like the straight tsunami of Islanders we’ve watched through the endless heteronormative seasons of Love Island before it, it would have been homophobic if I Kissed a Boy didn’t give us our space to have our own messy drama as gays on a big dating show. And we got fed. The dinner party saga, terrace snogs and tense recouplings let us be carnage and endearing in equal measure.

Via BBC

I Kissed a Boy captured what it actually means to be gay in this country. If you don’t know many gay people, watch this show. This cast portray perfectly how we speak to each other, what we value, how funny we are and mostly how much we have each other’s backs and an innate emotional investment we have for each other even when we’ve only known each other for short periods of time. Not a logistical difficulty in sight.

With BBC announcing that an all lesbian season named I Kissed a Girl to follow I Kissed a Boy is in production straight away and that it’s open casting right now, it’s never been more apparent that Love Island writing off queer inclusion as a logistical difficulty was always homophobic. We aren’t difficult if you want to showcase us.

As we all sit down to embark on another heterosexual season of Love Island, last night was the only time I Kissed a Boy and Love Island actually both aired simultaneously – with I Kissed a Boy airing its finale and Love Island its premiere. There’s no doubt in my mind which will produce the biggest celebs and smash ratings  – but equally, there’s no doubt in my mind which show felt fresher, more thought provoking and more relevant to young people looking for love in 2023.

@harrisonjbrock

I Kissed a Boy continues Sunday and Monday at 9pm on BBC Three and iPlayer.

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• I Kissed a Boy needs to realise it’s possible to be gay and not live in London

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• I Kissed A Boy is the drama-filled, unfiltered dating show us gays have always deserved