Love Island Looking For Non-Binary Contestants
Applications are open for 2022.
Love Island applications are officially open, and if you haven't already signed up for ten weeks of sun and romance, then you might not have seen what producers are looking for this year.
As winners Liam Reardon and Millie Court continue to soak up their success from last year's series, ITV hunt for their next batch of sexy singles to fly to Mallorca for the summer.
In an effort to diversify the casting process, Love Island applications are open to people of all sexualities and gender identities, including non-binary.
On the Love Island application form, potential islanders are asked how they identify their gender, offering Female, Male, Non-Binary, Prefer Not To Say, and Prefer Not To Self Describe as options.
Next, applicants are asked to describe their sexual orientation, given options Heterosexual, Gay Man, Gay Woman (Lesbian), Bisexual, and Other.
Throughout the application form for Love Island 2022, ITV reiterate: "We endeavour to have a diverse range of contestants appearing on the Programme."
Love Island fans have long called for more LGBTQ representation on the beloved dating show, but have yet to see it happen.
Before last year's series took off, ITV commissioner Amanda Stavri explained 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."
But that's not to say this year will be the same!
With options for a wider variety of sexy singles to apply, there's no telling what Love Island 2022 could have in store!
If you think it's your time to shine on ITV's Love Island, you can apply here.
Love Island returns to ITV later this year.
Featured Image Credit: ITVTopics: TV And Film, Love Island, ITV
Ali Condon