Reality Television

Reality television today is getting out of control. The term "reality TV" is become almost an irony, as it is starting to become more and more scripted and fake. TV shows such as the Kardashians, Housewives, etc. focus on the lives of the rich and depict characters going insane with fights and emotional struggles over the smallest of conflicts or problems. The people depicted on these shows are despicable people and yet millions of people tune in daily to watch then complain over what guy they're dating now or what friend backstabbed them this time. Because I really dont watch much reality television, I tuned in to an episode of Survivor because it is one of the only reality shows I can actually watch. I do not have a favorite character, as it was my first time watching an episode in the series this season, however gender is seen throughout the episode. Because I used to be an avid watcher of the show when I was younger, I have seen that gender roles in Survivor have been a trend throughout its existence. The whole premise of the show is a large group of random people are brought onto an exotic island for over a month, where they survive and participate in competitions in order to stay safe in the nightly votes to send a participant home. Men in the show are always falling into the roles anyone would expect them to: dominating in the physical competitions and being the ones mostly doing the manual labor for shelter and hunting. The women are usually the gathering, or starting fires, or just lounging around. The women also excel most of the time in the critical thinking competitions. There is also always a weird dynamic, as the most athletic men are usually voted off first due to the threat they have in competition to win individual immunity every week. There usually are always a group of guys or a group of girls that form alliances with one another, but most of the time its quite blended guys and girls. Especially in past seasons, when there is an attractive woman on the show, she usually is depicted as the sex icon. Commonly wearing the least amount of clothing as possible (sexual objectification). Survivor may not be the best example for gender in reality TV shows, but even that gender roles and sexual objectification are eminent.