#10: Lesbians Will Survive

Survivor is one of the most well recognized series in the "reality TV" genre, and in all sixteen seasons, there have only been two openly lesbian participants on the show. Ami Cusack is one of these lesbians being given a second chance at "surviving" in the current season, Survivor: Micronesia. In her first appearance in Survivor: Vanuata, the press surrounding Cusack attempted to paint her as a "man hater and arrogant".
In an interview with Cusack, conducted by Malinda Lo of AfterEllen.com, this issue about the hatred surrounding her openly queer sexual preference was addressed. Cusack acknowledged that her demeanor on the show probably made it easier to paint an unfair picture of lesbians as "man-haters and arrogant" because she was playing to win, but she didn't let it bother her. Other questions of the interview addressed both her romantic life and the media's take on it. According to the interview, the directors decided to omit her kissing with her girlfriend at that time, Crissy, because he didn't think it was "right".
From this interview, I discerned that the interviewer representing AfterEllen.com did a fair job at revealing her own position that lesbians should be treated more fairly by the media. She also managed to show that not all lesbians live up to the “tough” stereotype because Cusack admits that part of it was due to her military upbringing and that she felt more like a "delicate flower" at the time the interview was conducted.