Couples‘ Island and the Manosphere

By my approximation, we are about 12 years into the manospheric age. I say 12 because gamergate was in 2014 and if you ask me that was the beginning of the end. From there, online misogyny has continued to evolve into what it is today, a hodgepodge of influencers and grifters, all looking to capitalize on the polarization between men and women. Their methods of course, differ wildly. One example is the angry man podcasts, baiting young men into inceldom to line their pockets. Another is the snark pages that conveniently only target women as both fans and victims. While their tactics might seemingly put them on varying ends of the spectrum, their end goal is the same- a world in which women are always a “misstep”1 away from severe collective punishment and as a result, must be constantly modifying their behavior to avoid it.

And it’s been incredibly effective. So many of our clothes and beauty trends of today reflect a desperate need to avoid the ire of the manosphere. The increased “thinning” of women in the public eye. The milk-maidification of every store I used to love. All a part of this push to smooth out our collective edges. To be the good girls. You might say these are all conscious choices made by informed women and to that I ask you: Are choices made under duress really choices or are we all just following edicts? I’ll let you decide. But what is clear is that dating has suffered as a result. There’s no better place to witness that than in this season of Love Island.

Love Island is a show like none other. A bunch of singles are flown out to a beautiful villa and tasked only with “building connections” and forming couples. To do so, they do challenges and pull each other for one on one chats. And makeout like, all the time. The show then opts to test those connections by sending in bombshells (other hot singles) who are there to make connections of their own. Inevitably they form new couples and the ensuing drama is what keeps the lights on for the production company. For seven seasons now (at least in the US), this has worked as you’d expect- drama, tears, and a few actual couples that have left the villa together. But that was before Clavicular. Stick with me I’m getting to the point.

Clavicular is something of a silver surfer figure to me. His arrival heralded something more dangerous than I could have ever imagined. His looks-maxxing outlook on life is by far one of the most nihilistic I have encountered from a creator of his size and his influence has spread like wildfire. While even 3 years ago, you could see at least a touch of humanity beneath the surface of the manosphere, now there’s truly nothing. Women were considered the enemy which is bullshit for sure, but now were much less in the eyes of this community. We are a means to an end. Macros in the diet of the “self-improving” man. Every interaction is a weird, sterile calculation and the only emotion permitted in that space other than detachment is cold, simmering rage. For women trying to exist in this new world it means only a fraction of our previous behaviors are permitted. While this affects all of us, everyone under 30 is currently getting the worst of it. Which of course, applies to this season’s cast.

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In this reality, “being a hoe” is a cardinal sin, punishable by a mass dogpile. But you’re on Love Island. People are tonguing each other down before they know their names. So what do you do? You stick with the very first person you connected with and form a “bond” right away. Tie yourself to one man so no one can say anything about it. For the men this is an affirmation of their masculinity. “I can do anything and she’s not going anywhere” becomes a boost of sorts. This is the patriarchy on an accelerated scale: no matter if you’re happy or well suited to this person, you’re stuck with them and there’s nothing you can do about it. At this current stage, the villa is filled with what I would refer to as unhappily married couples. But the show must go on, so they sent in bombshells. One such bombshell was Sol, who was sent in to do what bombshells do and make connections. Except, she was completely shut out of that experience. After all, this is post-Clavicular couples’ island and we are all married. In fact, coming in as a bombshell labeled her as the dreaded “hoe” and even worse, a home-wrecking one at that. What transpired next is highly unusual for the show but all too predictable for 2026. She was clearly bullied2 in an effort to “prove something” about the strength of the couple she was there to “disrupt”. And then she was dumped without getting the full experience of the villa. No connections, no romance, no friendship, just some pies to the face. But all is right with the world. The marriages are preserved, the evil defeated. Is anyone really having fun? Probably not but at least no one is stepping out of line so who cares.

While this is a reality show with all of the contrivances that implies, this still speaks volumes to the state of dating today. The constraints of hyper-misogyny are too much of a burden on the entire process. While misogyny in dating isn’t new, its current implementation is. Everything is public and the manosphere looms large over every interaction. In the wild, the tension is thick. Everyone is sizing each other up and not in a good way. Bars are filled with anxious energy instead of mirth, which forces people online and into the hands of the oligarchs who have turned even flirting into a quick buck. And don’t get me wrong the online dating space is worse than anything the real world could produce. I haven’t been there in 5 years and I have no desire to return, I’d rather separate salt from sugar. But my point still stands, I wouldn’t expect much more from this season other than people trying desperately not to step out of place. They might as well skip casa amor and have a wedding challenge instead.

2

I believe the men led it. I have no proof but I just know it. Sincere is anything but.

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I realized that when it comes to TV, I have an internal rubric I judge every show based on. This rubric has nothing to do with the acting or the plot or even the music. No, it is entirely based on how cunty the cuntiest man on the show is. If a show has none, I can almost promise you that I will drop it at some point.