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CBS show "Survivor " has made efforts to be more inclusive, but there is room for growth. - The show has mishandled issues of race and sexuality on earlier seasons, like "Cook Islands."
From changing gendered catchphrases to pledging to cast more people of color, it's clear that diversity and inclusion are more important than ever on "Survivor," especially this current season.
But looking back on past seasons — like the mishandling of race on "Cook Islands" and sexual harassment on "Island of the Idols" — and the lack of strong intersectional representation on this one, it's clear the CBS show still has a long way to go.
'Survivor' has mishandled the topics of race and sexual harassment in past seasons
"Survivor" has been casting players of different identities — including race, sexual orientation, and gender — for years, but some of the portrayals have been mishandled, according to viewers and former castaways.
On season eight in 2000, Sue Hawk accused a naked Richard Hatch of touching her in an inappropriate way during a challenge, which Hatch later denied on his YouTube channel. He was not reprimanded nor removed from the game — and Hawk quit because she said she felt "violated and dehumanized."
The show had an opportunity to course-correct on 2019's season 39, "Survivor: Island of the Idols," when player Kellee Kim said her tribemate Dan Spilo's physical contact made her feel uncomfortable. But he wasn't removed from the game until after an off-camera incident, which People reported involved a member of the production team.
Spilo apologized in a 2019 statement to People and Probst spoke about the incident in a 2019 interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying, "... we have learned a great deal and it will inform our process and protocols on how to evolve moving forward."
And although "Survivor: Cook Islands" — which aired in 2006 — had a diverse cast, the show chose to divide tribes by race and ethnicity. At the time, host Jeff Probst said it was a way for the show to bring more diversity to the competition — though players and fans alike still refer to it as the "race wars" season.
In a 2020 interview with HuffPost, "Cook Islands" player Jenny Guzon-Bae said competitors agreed that her season would "really be controversial," and that many were angry when the fact that tribes were divided by ethnicities became public.
"Those who were really close to me weren't mad at me — I think they were just more excited that I was on 'Survivor,'" she explained. "But those who did not know me would criticize. People in the blogs would just bark at you and say, 'How could you participate in something like this? We've worked so hard for racial equality.'"
In 2017, a transgender contestant was outed on the show
In 2017's season 34 "Survivor: Game Changers," Jeff Varner, who is a gay man, outed Zeke Smith as transgender.
Verner originally said that he was exposing a "deception" by outing Smith but has since apologized to Smith and the trans community, calling it the "worst decision" of his life, according to People.
Smith told Vanity Fair in 2017 that he was "granted unprecedented autonomy" in deciding how his story was represented on TV, but he didn't explicitly state if CBS gave him the choice in whether the event would be aired at all.
During a 2020 virtual panel about LGBTQ identity on "Survivor," Smith recalled his past conversation with host Probst, in which he tried "to make sense of what was about to happen to me."
According to the player, he remembers Probst said something along the lines of, "I've shown my mom the episode, and my mom is my barometer of how the rest of the world will react. And she likes you."
Smith added that he thinks that response "shows how limited [the series] is," but also said he was treated with "an abundance of white-male privilege" during and after his time on "Survivor."
This current season has marked progress, but there's so much more work to be done
Today, the show seems to be working harder toward inclusion.
In November 2020, CBS announced its target for "unscripted programs to have casts with at least 50% of the contestants being Black, Indigenous, and People of Color" in the 2021 to 2022 broadcast season.
And on this year's season 41, Probst discussed changing his classic catchphrase, "Come on in, guys," to just, "Come on in," to be more inclusive of all identities. Probst updated his phrase and the show even allowed viewers to hear from two different queer players who had different reactions to his proposed change.
As a fan, I'm hopeful "Survivor" will continue to be receptive to feedback from viewers and make changes for the better, focusing on casting from a more intersectional perspective to represent an even more diverse range of people.
And, as a queer Latina, I'd still love to see more queer people of color use their experiences to navigate the social dynamics on "Survivor."
Representatives for CBS, Jeff Probst, and Mark Burnett didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.