Love Island ticked diversity box with deaf contestant but what is it doing about hate?

'Girls mocking Tasha' as a search term has over 6.1M views on TikTok. Has social media's appetite for diversity waned?

Tasha Ghouri, who wears a cochlear implant is the first ever deaf contestant to appear on Love Island. Pic: PA.

As we prepare for the culmination of another season of Love Island, it seems like a fitting time to reflect on some of the negative commentary that has dominated much of the online conversation this year.

Last week, the family and friends of this year’s contestants released a joint statement in unity “against the hate messages and insults that some viewers seem to think is acceptable”.

This statement appeared on the social media accounts of several contestants, including Tasha Ghouri— the first ever deaf person to enter the Love Island villa. 

Tasha, who was born deaf in both ears and wears a cochlear implant, warmed our hearts when she first revealed her “superpower” to her fellow islanders during her first night on our TV screens. However, as the days and weeks went on, negative comments and videos (with over 6 million search results) mocking the dancer’s voice began to circulate on social media and on TikTok.

Gerrie O’Grady, Executive Manager at the Cork Deaf Association has been working in the Deaf community for 15 years. She explains that there are a lot of different ways of looking at deafness and describes it as very complex.

Terence Rea, a social worker at the Cork Deaf Association, says such negative commentary and online bullying often signal a lack of understanding.

“If people truly knew the courage, depth of character, and strength of will Tasha Ghouri must have to have opened herself as a celebrity public figure, it would have a positive effect on combatting such online bullying,” he says.

Twenty-year-old Nicole Marinos is hard of hearing and wears hearing aids. The second-year university student does not classify herself as part of the Deaf community, as she communicates through speech and does not use sign language.

Nicole also believes that the negative commentary is due to a “huge lack of awareness and understanding” and notes how challenging such an environment must be for Tasha.

“I feel that it is unfortunate that some people have decided to focus on her speech instead of understanding how incredibly challenging it must be for Tasha to interact and understand every word spoken in such a challenging environment, where everything she says is scrutinised and judged.”

She says there can be misconceptions that a hearing loss equates to a lesser intelligence and ability, which is something she has experienced.

Nicole Marinos wears hearing aids and has experienced discrimination pertaining to her intelligence. At the age of 16, Nicole, a student of Christ the King secondary school at the time, won numerous accolades for a visual communication device she created to create a better user experience for patients undergoing MRIs.

“Typically, once people see my hearing aids they will shout at me in an effort to be understood. For me, this just distorts their speech, making it even more difficult to understand them," she says. "I feel this stems from a lack of knowledge of how to communicate with someone with a hearing loss and because there is such a huge difference between different degrees of hearing loss from one person to another, it is understandable that this situation exists.”

Nicole believes people like Tasha, who are willing to put themselves in the public eye and create awareness by sparking conversations around hearing loss and deafness, help to break down some of the barriers.

Fiona Landers is a Deaf Irish Sign Language user from Cork. The 25-year-old does not watch Love Island but explains that she first became aware of Tasha Ghouri when she saw friends sharing information about the first Deaf Love Island contestant on social media.

She explains that the Deaf community is “diverse, each person is individual, and has their own preferred language and method of communication” and people should not be so quick to judge Tasha.

“My first language is Irish Sign Language, and I use it everyday. Some of my friends use both Irish Sign Language and spoken language. People shouldn’t be quick to judge or make fun, as they do not know what Tasha’s struggles and barriers to communication were growing up," she says.

Cork Deaf Association Youth Development Officer, Fiona Landers.

“Some of my friends have struggled through speech and therapy sessions, and it varies for each person."

Fiona adds that she does not view deafness as a medical condition that needs to be “cured” but rather an integral part of her culture. “Most of the general public seem to focus too much on the hearing and speech ability, rather than seeing the Deaf person for who they are, their achievements and celebrating Deaf identity and culture.”

When it comes to representation, Fiona, who is a Deaf interpreter, says she would love to see more Deaf sign language users on TV as well as “more awareness and recognition”.

“It is nice to see a few there but it needs to be magnified, more people on mainstream media, showcasing Deaf identity and their culture,” she says. “Especially with sign language being shown on TV, not the small gestures such as ‘thank you’, but full-on conversations. That would really mean a lot.”