Last night, the world watched in horror as Love Island's biggest drama to date unfolded.
Spoiler alert – if you haven't watched the most recent episode and don't want to know the gory details, I recommend you open a new tab, watch the episode, and then return.
Megan and Eyal seemed like a pretty cute couple, cosying up on wine tasting dates and enjoying a night of passion in the hideaway.
However, last night, Megan expressed her desire to see other people, and move on from her fleeting dalliance wih the villa's self appointed spiritual guru.
Her head was turned, as the islanders are fond of saying, by the dishy Wes, but as we all know, Wes is currently coupled up with Laura – Megan's friend, who definitely has feelings for the the nuclear and electrical systems design engineer.
Megan quickly embarked on her mission to let Wes know she was interested, requesting a kiss from him in a private chat where she revealed to him that she liked him, and later securing said kiss during a tense game of Snog Marry Avoid.
Laura, understandably upset, dumped Wes and branded Megan a slew of slut shaming slurs (not her finest moment). Wes, as most male specimens do, went un-tarred and feathered by the promiscuity motivated put-downs.
Interestingly, it was what Megan said about her history of female-female friendships that stuck out to me about last night's drama-filled episode.
Megan told the cameras that she found it difficult to maintain gal pals because of instances like the one which just occurred. While it's completely fine if someone wants to place their pursuit of a romantic or sexual relationship over a friendship (frankly, the person being f*cked over by the friend and boyfriend in this situation deserves better) it's what Megan is implying by saying this that is concerning.
I think, that by saying that Megan has no interest in female friendships, she is tapping into an internalised misogyny that allows her to place other women on a lower tier than herself, a tier that she perhaps she feels she shares with the men in the villa.
It's a classic example of an 'I'm not like all the other girls' attitude. But I must ask, what the hell is so wrong with being like other women? And liking and respecting other women for their differences and their similarities?
What could be more humane than treating the feelings of all people you come into contact with with dignity and respect, regardless of gender. By saying the Megan cannot keep friendships with other women, it seems that she is blaming the 'silliness' of other women on this fact – a chilling throwback to the stereotypical notion of female hysteria of the 1950s.
Megan holds herself above the other women in the house and sees herself as the ultimate 'cool girl' by highlighting that she relates more to the men in the villa – which is reflected in her adamancy that the exploration of female sexuality is nothing to be ashamed of, on par with male sexual desire.
While she is absolutely right about that, saying: 'I’m a woman. I’m allowed to enjoy sex,' she seems to hold that standard only to herself, as we see reflected in her attempt to shame Laura for sleeping with more people than she has.
While the dating rules and lighting-speed relationships in the Love Island world are strikingly different to actual, realistic relationships, there is no doubt that the basic rules of common courtesy should apply.
Some call it the girl code, I just call it basic humanity. Laura definitely isn't my favourite character on the show (that would be the stunning Samira), but it is clear that she is an open and loving person who wants to be cared for in return, and Megan's mission of infiltration to destroy this on Laura for her own gain is plain mean.
No one likes to be usurped by a romantic rival, and judging by Megan's infuriatingly excited expression, it is clear that she holds Laura's feelings far below her own chance at a blossoming relationship, be it potentially fleeting or otherwise.
My suggestion to Megan would be that perhaps she has an inability to maintain female friendships because, rather than it being all the other women's faults, she's just not a very good friend.
