The next story I have decided to tell comes from a very unexpected place, a reality show. Maybe it pays homage to my not so secret life as a reality television junkie, but nevertheless, this is a story worth sharing. Everyday we find inspiration in the strangest of places but when we do it is literally worth "writing home" about. Watch the clip above if you have never seen the show Survivor, or would like an audio-visual to go along with this story.
By now, Survivor has become a household name. Jeff Probst snuffs another ousted contestant's torch week after week. But last week was unlike any other. The standard process of writing an individual's name down never took place. In fact, from the way I saw it, I almost felt as if it was Probst who made the final decision on who should go home. Through the crazy events that went down during this tribal council, one person became the focus and ultimately a spokesperson. By no choice of his own, Zeke was outed by one of his tribe members as a transgender.
Although the outing of someone without their consent is a major issue, that is not what stood out to me the most in this episode. Instead, one true inspiration was the way Zeke and his other tribe members reacted to and handled the situation. The other was Zeke's explanation of his so-called "deception" as indicated by Jeff Varner. In the clip above, you can see the difference in reactions between the rest of the tribe and Zeke. He remained quiet at first while his tribe mates cried, screamed and expressed their distaste for Varner's action. Once he had a chance to gather his thoughts, Zeke spoke gracefully about his reaction to this betrayal. He did not lose his temper or attempt to retaliate and throw daggers back at Varner. Instead he had a very important message for his tribe mates and the Survivor audience.
Zeke's message to Jeff, his tribemates, and now the world was the "game changing" moment of the night. His intent when signing up for Survivor was never to lead with his gender. From his perspective being an open transgender immediately becomes one's only identity. He wanted to be identified as Zeke the survivor player, not as Zeke the transitioned male contestant. In Survivor, each season has pitted certain identity groups against each other year after year. Whether it is one generation against another, gender vs. gender, or tribes who identify as beautiful vs. strong vs. smart, the end goal is to see which identity can ultimately outlast the others. What makes Survivor so fascinating is that most winners have overcome their perceived identity and outwit everyone in their path to a million dollars.
Zeke was already a self proclaimed "doughy, gay kid from Ohio" from the first season he played. But the transgender label was something he knew could never be overlooked. This is why he left that detail out on both seasons he has played. This idea of perceived identity vs. identification preceded by actions and accomplishments is why this story belongs on this blog. With the lines between genders becoming more blurred everyday it is much harder to make judgements based on generalizations. This is quite an interesting concept and is much of what makes Survivor a continuously successful show. And in staying true to its identity, this reality show allows its audience to witness very real moments that turn contestants into public figures. By taking him out of his comfort zone it forced Zeke to reveal his true self. In this case the only true self we saw was Zeke, the Survivor player.
