Love Island now open to non-binary contestants

Finally.

The lead up to Love Island is back in full swing with the applications for the new series officially opened but this year, they're making some big changes. After years of viewers begging for ITV to make the show more diverse, they've finally listened and are now allowing people of all sexualities and gender identities to apply, including non-binary people for the first time in the show's history. On the application form for the 2022 series, those filling it out are asked how they identify, with a list giving Female, Male, Non-Binary, Prefer Not To Say, and Prefer Not To Self Describe as options. The follow up question here is they are then asked to describe their sexual orientation, with Heterosexual, Gay Man, Gay Woman (Lesbian), Bisexual, and Other on the list. Throughout the application form, ITV reiterates: "We endeavour to have a diverse range of contestants appearing on the Programme." Love Island fans have been calling for more LGBTQ representation over the years, but up until now on the UK series, we are yet to see it. Ahead of last year's show, ITV commissioner Amanda Stavri said that LGBTQ contestants provided a "logistical difficulty" when it comes to coupling up. She told Radio Times: "Although Islanders don’t have to be 100 per cent straight, the format must sort of give [the] Islanders an equal choice when coupling up. “With our dating shows, such as The Cabins, there is much more sexual diversity. The formats don’t have as much restrictions as Love Island. So we’re very sort of mindful of that across our programming on ITV and dating series. But that’s the difficulty with Love Island." This season is definitely going to be an interesting one. And if you want to head onto the show, you can apply here.