'Survivor' competitors reveal players with vaginas were given an extra pair of underwear on season 41

• Two "Survivor" competitors said players with vaginas got an extra pair of underwear on season 41.
• "Survivor" players can wear the same underwear for up to 39 days, which comes with health risks.

According to two former competitors, players with vaginas received extra underwear on the latest season of "Survivor," which aired in 2021.

On Thursday, "Survivor" alum Lauren-Ashley Beck shared a post-season interview with season-41 competitors Liana Wallace and Shantel "Shan" Smith on her YouTube channel.

During the video interview, Beck recalled she had "one pair of panties for 38 days" on her 2019 season, and Wallace said the show's underwear situation has since "evolved."

She said players were originally only given one pair of underwear at camp — the norm for "Survivor," according to former players. But then, she said, she and her Yase tribemates Evvie Jagoda and Tiffany Seely began talking about hygiene and personal care at camp.

Wallace said it "makes sense" to give players with vaginas more than one pair of underwear because "we got stuff going on own there" and they have different needs than those with penises.

"I was like, there's a difference between equity and equality, right?" she said. "Equity is giving everyone the same thing, and then equality is giving people what they need based on their needs."

Insider has reported that wearing the same underwear and clothes for an extended period of time can have potentially life-threatening consequences, with the health risks, such as severe urinary tract infections, being higher for people with vaginas.

Wallace said showrunners re-evaluated clothing procedures for players with vaginas during the season

According to Wallace, shortly after she and her tribemates voiced their concerns, showrunners gave players with vaginas extra underwear.

"They decided, yes, it makes sense to give people that have a vagina two pairs of underwear," Wallace said. "That was something cool that I think is going to continue."

It's unclear if players with penises also received extra underwear.

In the same interview, Smith also said that the clothing change "came from Yase's camp."

"I got my other underwear, I think, three or four days into the game," Smith said. "Which was great. I was like, 'Awesome, 'cause discharge is a thing.'"

"I'm definitely happy three Yase folks were able to contribute to the experience of future generations of people who go on the show by advocating for equitable hygienic treatment out on the island," Wallace told Insider.

Players previously told Insider that they only received a second pair of underwear if there were extenuating circumstances, such as health or safety concerns

Previous "Survivor" competitors have spoken about being limited to a single pair of underwear per season and how difficult it is to get a replacement.

On the 2019 season "Island of the Idols," player Janet Carbin said she had to beg for new underwear. Her fellow castaway, Elaine Stott, said she only got a new pair after she "had lost so much weight that they wouldn't stay on" and she mentioned "hygiene" to showrunners.

While filming "Island of the Idols," Beck said she was able to receive a second pair of underwear after contracting a UTI.

"They did have new underwear for us, but you know, to throw in a little razzle-dazzle, they stepped on them in the dirt and then made us wear them," Beck said in a TikTok posted in December that has since been made private.

A source from production at CBS later denied this, telling Insider the wardrobe department puts clothes through an "aging process" when they enter the game late, but this is not done in front of contestants nor does it involve rubbing garments into the dirt.

Smith, Beck, and representatives for CBS didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.