She's gone into the Love Island Australia villa to find a romantic partner, but contestant Jessica Losurdo says that whoever she couples up with must be comfortable with her other love — video games.
The 26-year-old from Sydney is a bank worker by day, but in her downtime, she enjoys playing online video games, a hobby she's enjoyed since a young age.
The reality TV star says it's no secret that the gaming space is still heavily occupied by men, and that she's often not "taken seriously" as a woman, or faces sexist remarks when she's online.
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"I feel that gaming is heavily male-dominated. There are not a lot of girls that do gaming," Losurdo tells Refinery29 Australia.
"I play online games, and I feel like when you go online, you're in the lobby [of the game] and you put your headset on, and then when you start speaking and people hear that you're a woman, you get attacked," she explains.
"It's like 'Get in the kitchen and make sandwiches' and those sorts of jokes. I feel like you get punished if you like games as a woman. You're not really taken seriously."
Losurdo says she tries to assert herself whenever a sexist incident occurs, and encourages other female gamers to call out any problematic behaviour they encounter as well.
"I just feel that the girls who do play games, speak up. If you go into the chatroom and you hear a guy making all these derogatory comments, call it out because it's definitely not right."
Speaking her mind is something Losurdo's definitely not shying away from on Love Island as well. The woman of Italian and Filipino heritage says that she's looking for a partner who is genuine, loyal and loves her for who she is.
"These days, that's hard to find," she says. "Especially with social media and [the fact that] everyone has options."
The 2022 season of Love Island Australia is hosted by Sophie in a beachside villa in Mallorca, Spain. There are 13 singles who must couple up and try to stay together while resisting the temptations of new cast members called 'bombshells'.
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The cast includes Claudia, Stella, Holly, Jessica, Layla, Phoebe, Phoebe H, Maddy, Vakoo, Tak, Austen, Mitchell, Jordan, Conor, Andre, Callum and Married At First Sight's Al Perkins.
Love Island Australia airs Monday to Thursday, with new episodes dropping at 6pm on 9Now.
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