As “Survivor 51″ continues to get rolling, you may have noticed something interesting.
*SPOILER ALERT*
When Jenna Doore’s time on the show ended during the October 14 episode, she was the fourth woman in a row to be voted out.
Now, host Jeff Probst has addressed what’s going on and discussed how being aware of this trend may affect what’s going to happen during the competition.
Jenna’s Exit Came After Aaliyah, Ana and Patt Were Voted Out
When Jenna made her departure on “Survivor 51,” her exit came after Aaliyah Puglia, Ana Sani and Patt Cannaday were also voted out.
Although the season actually began with more women than men, “the ouster of the first three women in the game were all put into motion by other women,” Entertainment Weekly pointed out. “Jenna saved herself on day 3 by throwing Aaliyah under the bus to Brady Booker, with Maggie Nestor also wanting to vote Aaliyah out due to her challenge performance. Ana was blindsided after Alexis Levine, Linnea Capobianco, and Sharonda Cox flipped the script to save Eric Macksoud. And then, Thien An Nguyen was the one who suggested switching last week’s vote from Mike Pinsky over to Pat.”
That, of course, was followed by Jenna having to say goodbye.
Beyond this particular situation, Entertainment Weekly also noted that this is “not the first time Survivor has appeared to have a gender imbalance at play.”
Indeed, if you take a look at what took place between season 26’s “Survivor: Cagayan” and season 40’s “Winners at War,” you’ll see that out of the 15 winners, 12 were men, including all of the final 6. That’s not to overlook the fact that four women in a row were voted out when “Survivor 44” kicked off.
If this isn’t something you noticed, then you’re not alone. Probst also wasn’t aware, but now, he has something interesting to say about what’s happened in the past and what might happen in the future.
‘Nothing Is Ever That Easy or That Clean’
“I did not realize that,” Probst told Entertainment Weekly when he was informed about what EW noted was a “gender discrepancy in recent winners data after Island of the Idols,” adding that “he was legitimately shocked.”
“Wow. I have zero idea,” Probst added. “I need to pay more attention! I wonder if you merely pointing it out will impact the future. I’m serious. Sometimes, that is all it takes.”
The longtime host of the show also reflected on the situation during his weekly “Field Notes” Instagram post.
“Another woman voted out this episode,” he wrote. “This season, we started with 11 women and 10 men. Then Lewis was sent to Exile so we technically started the tribes with 11 women and 9 men. And yet, the first four vote outs at tribal were all women.”
He went on to explain what he thought about what was happening, telling his readers, “This is an example that tribe dynamics dictate everything. More women at the start of the game doesn’t necessarily mean more women at the end of the game. Nothing is ever that easy or that clean.”
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‘Shocked’ Jeff Probst Opens Up About 4 Women in a Row Being Voted Out of ‘Survivor 51′ and How It May ‘Impact’ What’s Coming