The Block fans call out 'toxic femininity' in new season: 'Disappointing'

The Block fans have called out the latest season of the renovation reality series for showcasing “toxic femininity” amongst the cast.

Despite the fact that the new season only began airing last week, there has already been plenty of drama between the contestants over miscommunications, shopping trip exclusions, and even a ‘cheating’ scandal.

One of the most surprising incidents so far was when Kristy went to Leah to complain about something Steph had done to her, only for the audience to be shown footage that seemingly proved Kristy was lying about what had actually happened.

Taking to Reddit following Sunday night’s episode, one viewer pointed out that “every episode to date has presented prime examples of toxic femininity”.

“I’m not sure if the producers are specifically editing the show to create drama, but it’s really disappointing,” they wrote.

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“Again poor Steph getting absolutely attacked behind her back, even at her lowest point the girls cannot help but attack her, talk behind her back, gross. Absolutely disgusting.

“I hope someone brings this to light during the season and talks about this real toxic trait in an effort to resolve it and actually help and care for each other.”

Others quickly took to the comments to share their thoughts on the drama, with one person saying it’s hard not to empathise with Steph “when you’ve been bullied by other girls in similar ways”.

“That weird, snakey, behind your back and crawling into the back of your mind stuff… it really sticks with you,” they shared. “Despite not being much of a fan of hers myself from the start, I can certainly see some of my personality in Steph’s too.”

“Keep in mind they’re fed information and pushed to create ‘drama’,” another fan replied, followed by someone else who added, “I believe this too but it seems to always be with the women”.

“The guys tend to be busy on their own site every day whereas the women are off shopping and interacting with each other more as they cross paths at the few sponsor stores,” a different user remarked. “Naturally they chat and it's turned into mindless (yet juicy) gossip for production to mould into their narrative.”

'Most intense season yet'

A source recently told Yahoo Lifestyle that this year’s edition of the renovation series is set to be “the most intense season yet”, with the Blockheads living in the closest proximity to each other in the show's history.

“MAFS dinner parties look tame in comparison and we are delighted,” the insider shared. “When you have people living on top of each other in a high-pressure situation like this, we just know how humans will behave and this series has really proved that for us.”

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The source added that “queen bee status” is at the centre of the drama this year, with the “hierarchy” between contestants changing more than once throughout the season.

“We purposefully found women all around the same age and made sure they were all highly competitive with an insatiable need to be liked. It was genius,” they continued.

While the majority of this year’s drama has surrounded Kristy, Steph and Leah so far, the insider teased that Leslie and sisters Eliza and Liberty will become involved by the time the houses are built.

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