Since returning from the COVID-imposed break, the game of Survivor has seen an old trend reverse itself. Four of the last six Survivor winners have been women.
Over the course of the first 40 seasons, Survivor was won by a woman only 15 times, or 37.5 percent of the time. This number is skewed by the fact that Sandra Diaz-Twine won twice. It is also misleading when you consider five of the first eight winners were women. That means from season 9 through season 40 (32 seasons), only 10 women won Survivor. That's just about 31 percent.
After Denise Stapley won in season 25, only three women won Survivor over the next 15 seasons. That's only 20 percent of winners. It's a disturbing ratio, and there's no good explanation for it.
The new era of Survivor has featured some strong women players
The four women who've won Survivor since the game restarted with season 41 are Erika Capsupanan, Maryanne Oketch, Dee Valladares, and Kenzie Petty.
There have been plenty of fantastic female players over the years, including Sandra, Parvati Shallow, Kim Spradlin, Denise, Natalie Anderson, Sara Lacina, Sophie Clarke, and Dee.
There have been some incredible women who haven't won, like Cirie Fields, Aubry Bracco, Stephenie LeGrossa, Kelley Wentworth, and the vastly underrated Amanda Kimmel. One could argue that Cirie and Aubry are two of the best players ever, winners or not.
The numbers, as they stand right now, have 26 men winning and 18 women, with Tony Vlachos joining Sandra as the only two-time winners. The recent run of female winners has helped close the gap, but men have still won about 59 percent of the time.
There is no doubt there have been some great male players to win and a healthy number of men who didn't win. Sometimes, it is how many opportunities players have to play; sometimes, it is the luck of the draw.
There is also one truth that is undeniable -- It is hard to win the game of Survivor. You have to play a good enough game, be aggressive when necessary, and lay back when it is called for. Then, you have to convince a group of people that you probably took out of the game to make you the winner. That is a rough row to hoe.
It just seems strange that the percentage of winners is as uneven as it is. There have been cunning women just like there have been cunning men. There have been physical women just like there have been physical men. There are strategic and social women, just like there are strategic and social men.
Maybe, the two traits that may be viewed differently between the genders are aggressiveness and control. There have been plenty of men who have been aggressive in their strategies and controlling in how they carried those strategies out. Boston Rob would certainly fall in this category. Tony, too.
If a woman were outwardly as aggressive and controlling as some of the men, they would certainly be labeled differently, and it probably wouldn't be accepted in the same way. It is sad that that might be the case, but it is not surprising.
Still, the results of recent seasons give some hope things might be turning around. Social skills seem to be at a premium, as Kenzie proved. Combine the social game with some well-timed big moves like Erika and Maryanne. Or, get locked into the game early and stay locked in like Dee did. There are plenty of paths that lead to victory for women players.
It will be interesting to see if the percentage continues to even out over the next few seasons. The game is on the right track.
Survivor 47 premieres on Sept. 18, 2024!