Voted OUT!

Most reality shows and talent search competitions enjoy wide viewership because they deliver adventure, drama and humor depicting ordinary people and a strange cast of conflicting characters. With the promise of instant celebrity status and a large sum of prize money, these shows have inevitably attracted many gay contestants.

SURVIVOR
The first castaway to outwit, outplay and outlast other contenders in the premier season of America's most famous reality show, SURVIVOR, is Richard Hatch. He won the million dollars by making alliances - a concept that is now universal to nearly every contestant in every season - and by flaunting himself as a "fat, naked gay man."

Subsequent seasons saw Brandon Quinton, John Carroll, Coby Archa, and Rafe Judkins, all of whom were regarded as competetive, skilled and cunning players. All of them were openly gay.

Although being gay is rarely described as an asset in society, these contestants used their sexuality to their advantage amongst their diverse Survivor tribemates. Some bigoted fans called them shrewd and deceitful. But when you're gay, you learn to have facades. So, I think manipulation is inherently a defense mechanism for many gay men.

AMAZING RACE
Survivor's popularity is, perhaps, rivaled only by another CBS show, the AMAZING RACE. Then boyfriends Chip and Reichen competed and won the race in Season Four. However, barely a month after the show wrapped, the two announced they had split. They hope to still be role models for gay marriage even though they are no longer a couple. They maintain that they are still partners in each others' lives, just not intimate partners.

Other memorable gay racers include Joe and Bill in the show's maiden season, and Lynn and Alex in Season Seven. My personal favorite is the mother and son team of Susan and Patrick. Their official team bio states that Patrick is extremely close with his family and they've always been supportive of him, including when he told them he was gay.

AMERICAN IDOL

And then, of course, there's the biggest show on earth called the AMERICAN IDOL. If you saw the hit independent film, Eating Out, directed by Sundance Film Fest Winner, Allan Brocka, you would immediately recognize the actor who played Kyle. He's no other than Jim Verraros, one of the Idol finalists from Season One. His popularity soared when he came out after the competition. His young fans, both gay and straight, not only embraced the disclosure, but verily celebrated it, proudly signaling the broader acceptance of gays among the next generation.

Second Season finalist Clay Aiken fueled speculation over his sexual orientation, but he has repeatedly denied that he is gay and labeled questions about his sexuality as "insulting." In Season Four, Anwar Robinson and Mario Vasquez were the ones who triggered the viewers' gaydar from the get-go.

Some say that American Idol has a gay problem because producers seem unwilling to openly embrace its gay contestants. The network prefers to keep them closeted, at least during the competition. Some of these contestants have subsequently come out after their stint on the show, but none have competed as openly gay, despite the persistent rumors.

The producers' mindset, perhaps, is that being gay can ruin a pop idol's career. In my opinion, the only time openly gay people are on the Idol show is when they're there for exploitation purposes, not treated as regular people who have singing talent. One may surmise that American Idol seems to be sending a message that "If you're gay, you must hide it, otherwise you won't succeed." The producers seem to dismiss the fact that the UK Pop Idol, where the show was based on, has had openly gay contestants as well as winners. Australian Idol had a transvestite contestant. Jim Verraros was accepted by his fans for who he is. Wouldn't it be an incredible cultural advance if one of the music industry's next pop stars were openly gay?

PINOY BIG BROTHER

Meanwhile, one of our local TV networks is still reeling from the phenomenal success of Pinoy Big Brother. Its first season was capped by having a celebrity and teen edition. The names of Uma Khouny, Rustom Padilla and Aldred Gatchalian are counted as controversial housemates because of gender issues. By now, Rustom's dramatic coming out on national television, has become a classic TV moment. As for Uma and Aldred, they may just be effeminate straight men.

But then again, may be not.

Whether they won the top prize or were voted out of the competition, what matters is that these gay men were able to inspire millions. They were able to showcase themselves as strong, talented and determined achievers.

Gay men are survivors.
They are Idols.
They are an amazing race.
Even Big Brother knows that.