I have to admit; I’m what one would call a reality TV junkie. I’m not as much addicted to reality TV like “Real Housewives,” even though it’s sometimes a guilty pleasure of mine (but isn’t it for everyone!). Instead, I became entranced at a young age with shows that use cut-throat strategy, and insane and clever competitions like on “Big Brother” and “Survivor”.
Over the years, I have seen through the aspects I love about these shows, and have begun to notice some patterns with audiences and my own tendencies in reception toward certain cast members. With the rise of social media, fans can easily get in contact with cast members via Twitter or Instagram, and begin a conversation with their favorites and other fans. All over these conversations, there’s a trend. Women who show independence and a no nonsense strategy are portrayed as cold, while men who use these same tactics are portrayed as a mastermind of the game. Although I 100-percent agree that the men who have dominated the game of “Big Brother,” such as Dr. Will Kirby and Dan Gheesling, are masters of the game, this same praise has not been reciprocated for the female masterminds.
I have seen this time and time again in my favorite show, “Big Brother”. For those of you not familiar, it is a reality show where contestants live in a house with each other, isolated from the outside world. Each week, someone is voted out of the house. At the end of the season, there is a winner, a runner-up, and America’s Fan Favorite.
Season three was the first season a woman really took charge of the game. Danielle Reyes came up with crafty and manipulative plans to eliminate her adversaries. Her plans consisted of logic that was over the heads of the other contestants. When Danielle made it to the finals, the past house guests did not vote for her to be the winner because they said she was cold and manipulative. They said as a mother, she should not have played such a heartless game. It was odd for her to have provoked a reaction such as this, for in the previous season, a good looking male doctor, Dr. Will Kirby, who played a similarly sly game, was voted to be the winner. Now, you may be thinking, "Maybe the jury was bitter," but in the 14 seasons since then, men have all won using the same tactics she used and are pegged as "Big Brother" geniuses. Danielle lost to Lisa Donahue, who represented the stereotype of the damsel in distress after her boy toy was voted out of the house. Danielle, on the other hand, was a mother who did not live up to the nurturing stereotype, so many in her season pegged her as a villain.
In Season 16, we saw something unexpected. Christine Brecht, a married woman, was overly flirty and touchy with another house guest to ensure that her time spent in the house was extended. When she was evicted, she was greeted with boos from the audience. While I do not agree with her actions as a married woman, in Season seven, winner Mike “Boogie” Malin, led on a girl for the entire game, saying he loved her, but was really just lying so she could help him get farther along in the competition. He was voted the winner by his fellow contestants for masterful gameplay, and was greeted with loud cheers and hugs from everyone.
Aside from winners, Fan Favorite is voted on by America during the final week of the show. Over the past nine years, every time a woman has won, only once had a woman been picked for her gameplay instead of her personality. Over 50 percent of the time, a male has won this coveted cash prize, with runner-up being a male over 70 percent of the time.
In many instances in reality television, we see women who take charge depicted as villains because they are acting out of the socially accepted mold. Women who fit the cookie cutter mold are almost always rewarded. Men are not depicted as the enemy, but as extraordinary individuals with impeccable minds for logic and strategy. These men are masterminds of the game, but these women deserve some credit too. It will be interesting to see what reception cunning "Big Brother" player Vanessa Rousso, from Season 17, will be met with once she leaves the house in the next week, either as a winner, runner-up, or in third place. Is this stereotype and message that only men can be clever something we millennials want to pass onto the next generation? If not, how can we change that?
