TV

Lesbianism on “Survivor Vanuatu”

The ninth season of CBS’s popular reality show Survivor has finally come to an end, and neither of the show’s two lesbians emerged as the winner-that honor fell to Chris Daugherty, the sole male contestant who survived the women’s alliance. But the show catapulted 59-year-old Scout Cloud Lee and 31-year-old Ami Cusack to temporary stardom as the first openly gay women in nine seasons of Survivor, and the most prominent ones to grace reality TV so far.

An average of 20 million people tuned in to watch each episode of Survivor: Vanuatu, ranking the show consistently in the top ten for both adult and teen viewers. The size of the show’s audience and Ami and Scout’s longevity in the game (Ami made it to the final six, Scout to the final three) in the context of an overall absence of lesbians on network TV this season unwittingly made Survivor: Vanuatu a powerful tool for lesbian visibility.

The fact that lesbians have been almost non-existent on reality shows–and completely absent from the most popular reality shows-means that Ami and Scout, for better or worse, have become the face of lesbianism for millions of viewers.

Which begs the question: how well was lesbianism portrayed on Survivor: Vanuatu?

Scout and Ami, both in committed relationships with women, were introduced as two of the 18 contestants who kicked off Survivor: Vanuatu on September 16th. While Ami and Scout each developed a healthy share of detractors among contestants and viewers as the season progressed, they came across as interesting, dynamic women who don’t adhere neatly to prevailing stereotypes about lesbians. They chopped wood and carried water; they formed friendships and alliances with other (straight) contestants; they occasionally won immunity challenges and more often lost them. They were just as complicated, flawed, likeable, and unlikable, as the other contestants on the show.

In a season when TV lesbians are either confined to minor, two-dimensional storylines or missing entirely, the fact that Ami and Scout were simply given equal visibility and (mostly) equal treatment is an accomplishment. But not content merely to survive, Scout and Ami emerged early in the game as leaders in different ways, and over time, the two women received more visibility than most of the other contestants.

Ami was instrumental from the beginning in helping the women’s tribe win reward and immunity challenges, and the other female contestants routinely took their cue from Ami when deciding who to vote out. On more than one occasion Ami got the women to change their vote without even trying, simply by stating her own intention to vote differently. Ami’s role in shaping the game was so apparent after the first few episodes that it began to be openly acknowledged by the other contestants-particularly some of the male contestants, who immediately recognized her as a threat once the tribes were reshuffled-and when the show began airing, reporters and viewers quickly dubbed Ami the “queen” of the women’s alliance.

The attempt by the show’s editors, a few of the contestants, and many reporters to position Ami as a “man-hater” was disappointing, if predictable. In one episode, Sarge even implied to Twila that Ami’s persuasive abilities had sexual undertones, and the show played up the angle by cutting suggestively to footage of Ami painting a flower on Julie’s stomach.

Slapping the “man-hater” label on any woman who openly supports the advancement of women is a common intimidation tactic, but to Ami’s credit, she consistently laughed off the charge and refused to be cowed, trumpeting “Lady power!” during her post-Survivor interviews and telling host Jeff Probst in last night’s post-finale reunion special that the women’s alliance was formed because “It’s been a long time of women not really standing for each other, for being their best.”

Despite being edited to be the villain, Ami consistently displayed more integrity than most of the other contestants. She never lied, and she confronted people directly if she had a problem with them. She was thoughtful, logical, and direct, but her overconfidence and her misplaced faith in Twila and Scout eventually led to her demise in Episode 12.

Scout’s integrity remained a little less intact after her betrayal of Ami, but she achieved some measure of victory simply by making it to the final three, an especially remarkable feat given her bad knee and the fact that she is 20 years older than most of the contestants.

A low-key player who got along easily with most of the others, Scout survived by consistently flying under the radar. While she wasn’t the most popular player, she wasn’t unpopular, either, and she out-maneuvered other players mentally even if she couldn’t beat them physically. She was also openly respected by the other women, even if some of that respect began to diminish as the game wore on.

Although CBS eagerly trumpeted Scout’s sexuality in the press release for the series, the show’s editors waited so long to disclose Ami and Scout’s sexuality on-camera?despite the fact that both women came out to the other contestants in the first week on the island?that many viewers wondered if it would happen at all. But Scout was finally revealed to be gay in Episode 7, and Ami in Episode 11, and the casual way they were outed (through mentions of their respective partners) and the seeming ease with which the other contestants accepted that information was encouraging.

Although there were a few conservative female contestants who privately expressed the belief that homosexuality is a sin, they never treated Ami and Scout poorly or even differently because of their sexuality. Ami and Scout each developed close friendships with a few straight contestants, as well (Ami with Leann, and Scout with Twila).

But the producers’ decision not to include any shots of the two women and their girlfriends kissing when they were reunited in Episode 11 was disheartening. Survivor Executive Producer Mark Burnett explained his decision to Entertainment Weekly with the comment that he “didn’t think it was right to show both lesbian kisses at 8 o’clock,” which is exactly the kind of thinking that allows images of routine displays of affection between lesbians to remain taboo and sensational.

The interactions between Scout and Ami and their respective girlfriends that were shown on camera were sweet and intimate. Scout cried openly when reading a letter from Annie in Episode 8, and cried again when they were briefly reunited during Episode 11. Ami cheered on Crissy by yelling “I love my girl!” during their immunity challenge, and the couple won the challenge against all of the other remaining contestants and their significant others/friends. Both women’s relationships were portrayed as loving and devoted, and not as something to hide or to be ashamed of (the show’s delay in revealing them on-camera notwithstanding).

In the end, the lesbian contestants may not have been treated exactly like the heterosexual contestants on Survivor, but by presenting Ami and Scout and their relationships as complex and three-dimensional, the show made it more difficult for its millions of viewers to maintain inaccurate stereotypes and generalizations of lesbians. And for lesbian viewers, Survivor finally gave us not one but two women to root for.

The contestants themselves are already feeling the effects of their contribution. Scout indicated on the post-finale Survivor reunion special that the reaction by friends and neighbors in rural Oklahoma has been overwhelmingly positive since she and Annie were officially outed by the show, with complete strangers coming up to Scout to give her a hug and communicate their support. Ami, meanwhile, has become something of a sex symbol among lesbians, with fan sites and message boards devoted to her springing up all over the internet.

A mostly positive portrayal of lesbianism on Survivor: Vanuatu won’t make a big dent in the challenges lesbians face in America, but it does put a human face on lesbianism in a time when that is increasingly important. As Scout’s experiences with her neighbors in Oklahoma illustrate, even if Scout and Ami did not come away from the show with a million dollars, we are all richer for their efforts.

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