[X]

So far they've been referred to as 'circus freaks', 'wacky', OTT and similar.

Looking at this year's BB housemates, I agree that they are a more diverse bunch than probably any previous year. But that's not to say they're the freakshow attraction that the press and public is pushing for them to be.

Taken individually, I can't see what all the fuss is about- this is a line-up that reflects the fact that contemporary Britain is racially, culturally and sexually diverse. If you consider this line-up to be particularly bizarre or brave, then you probably don't get out much.

Two gay men of varying degrees of campness - So what?

An outspoken black guy - And?

A radical feminist vegetarian - ....So?

A few good-looking quirky women...

One vain boy with a hairband...

A former asylum seeker muslim...

Some scottish guy who watched too much Jackass....

(OK, I can see how Nadia the ****** is still seriously 'fringe' for most people, so I'll give the papers that one...).

Sorry, I can't see what all the fuss is about. You'd see stranger any day on any university campus across the UK, or in most clubs or on a busy high street.

If nothing else, all the winking and nudging over this year's line-up illustrates quite clearly that people still mostly equate 'normal' with white middle class, politically centred heterosexuals. The public at large react to even vaguely alternative lifestyles as either threats or as figures of fun (this incidence).