Hello and welcome to the end of your social life... because it's Love Island time! And one of the show's contestants, Natasha Ghouri, is already making waves – for being the first ever deaf person to appear on the show. And if you're thinking that Tasha looks familiar, then you'd be right – as not only is she the first deaf singleton on the reality series, but she was also the first ASOS model to be pictured wearing a cochlear implant (a type of hearing device that turns sound into electrical signals), too.
Back in April last year, ASOS was praised for using dancer Tasha to model jewellery on the site whilst wearing the device, and it was something that received plenty of praise from shoppers online.
"Definitely not crying because of ASOS using an earring model with a hearing aid," wrote Twitter user Asia last year after spotting Tasha online (before correcting herself that the model was in fact wearing a cochlear implant). Cochlear implants differ to hearing aids, as instead of simply making sounds louder, like a hearing aid would, the cochlear implant stimulates the auditory nerve using electrical signals, giving the sensation of hearing.
Continuing on, the social media user added, "It's the first time I've ever seen a model with a hearing impairment, let alone an earring model and it's so refreshing to see this kind of representation for people like me."
Luckily Tasha spotted the tweet herself and dropped Asia a little reply, explaining that she'd been tapped up by ASOS to model clothes as well as earrings, and described it as "the biggest achievement I’ve done! Proving out there that no matter what disability you’ve got.. you can do it."
In another more recent tweet, Tasha also shared her excitement about heading into the villa. "AHHH! The cats out the bag and this cat is on Love Island searching for the one! @loveisland!," she wrote. "Will our Tasha find her dance partner or will they have two left feet? Only one way to find out!"
We're so here for the representation. 👏👏👏
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
