People Are Finally Noticing Survivor's Big Gender Problem

Women are more likely than men to the be the first boots, accounting for 24 of the past 40 first eliminations . And in her 2016 college thesis, "The Impact of Race and Gender in Survivor," University of Michigan student Lita Brillman found that 45% of women of color were voted off in the first five votes, and Black female players were the only ethnic demographic that were more likely than not to be voted off before the sixth episode of the show. When it comes to age, Inside Survivor reports that women over 40 are also more likely to be one of the first three bootsand when they do make it to the final tribal council, they tend to be overlooked.

And speaking of winners: When you look at the 39 past winners of Survivor, only 14 are women, and just eight are people of color. (Three are of women of color.) In fact, the past five Survivor winners have been men, marking the longest streak of male winners in Survivor history.

Unfortunately, Winners at War seems to be continuing that same pattern: The first three boots on the show have all been women. The first elimination of the season (Natalie Anderson) was particularly upsetting, because it happened in an attempt to "weaken" her male allya common trope on the show.

Fans of the show have noticed this pattern, too, and they've been speaking up about the all-female votes online:

3 women out in a row on the Edge Of Extinction is heartbreaking #Survivor . pic.twitter.com/1PPAeNrxFa PaulParmar1 (@PaulParmar1)

3 WOMEN VOTED OUT BACK 2 BACK. THIS FVCKING SUCKS. #Survivor #StreamYIKES (@DduDdddu)

STOP TARGETING WOMEN TO WEAKEN THEIR MALE ALLIES. #Survivor #StreamYIKES (@DduDdddu)

So the first 3 boots are women.... mmkay #Survivor pic.twitter.com/UpW1aOixJb Evan Mathis (@EvanAmilMathis)

Women of #Survivor .....WHAT THE FUCK. THATS 3 DOWN! Syndication Studios (@Kydwykkyd101)

3 women voted out in a row though? #Survivor pic.twitter.com/Qd3ryQepff Reality TeVi (@RealityTeVi)

And while we don't believe the tribes are voting out women intentionally, there is a difference to how women are perceived by other players on the show , and the frequency in which women are voted out suggests some implicit bias is at play. For example, even though Alecia Holden was placed on the Brawn tribe on Kah Rng, her tribe ostracized her due to her slight build and they questioned her abilities even after she made a fire.

Women are often portrayed as solely sidekicks to their male allies, and if a woman gives a poor performance in a challenge, she's judged way harsher than the guys. Even strong female players get punished, as aggressive gameplay is rewarded in men and punished in women. Kass McQuillen and Tony Vlachos both lied and flipped on their alliances on Cagayan, but the tribeand the viewersresponded much more positively to Tony than Kass.

Women are also at a disadvantage when it comes to finding idols, with some contestants arguing that gender roles at camp play a part in who has time to find idols, as Entertainment Weekly reports. Women are expected to tend to the fire and cook, while men collect firewood and hunt for fish, leaving them with more opportunities to find idols.

But in a positive twist this season, three women who are still in the game have immunity idols:

Starting off the season with 3 women eliminated is certainly one way to start #Survivor : Winners at War. At least 3 women found the first 3 Immunity Idols, so it's not all downhill so far. pic.twitter.com/rS1QNmvkNP Survivor Reddit (@Survivor_Reddit)

Yes, losing 3 women sucks in #SurvivorWinnersAtWar , but just putting it out there that 3 women are the 9noy castaways in #Survivor40 with idols - Sandra, Kim, Denise Go girls! #Survivor #WinnersAtWar #RHAP pic.twitter.com/AZ8O3FGHR3 Pranay Das (@GypsyPranay)

I love this new trend of women finding idols #survivor Delanie #JennLeeDefender (@ShoneeDanniStan)

After Denise and Kim's idol finds, women have found 10 of the last 11 idols (and 16 of the last 24) but still have only found 27% of all idols in #Survivor history. #Fact pic.twitter.com/YJXQe6exBV Rob's Fact Checker (@RobsFactChecker)

Another positive part of this season is the fact that the three women who were voted out still have a chance to return to the game.

At the end of the day, it's inevitable that women are going to get voted out of the Survivor game, and there's nothing wrong with a contestant deciding to vote out a female playerbut we'd like to see more equal treatment of male and female contestants. Women have made a tremendous impact on the game of Survivor, and they deserve a fair shot at Sole Survivor, too.