Survivor: Race Season

I focused on the first two parts of the season premiere.
Part 1:

Part 2:

The thirteenth season of Survivor began by dividing the players into four racialized tribes: African-American, Asian-American, Latino-American, and Caucasian. The premise of the show was to set up a “social experiment” to see how the various groups interacted with each other and others, as well as how they would compete, both as a team and as a racial group. By looking at the show with both panethnicity and intersectionality in mind, one can see the significance in going beyond the binaries in a show that was meant to be very binaristic.

The show began by forming racial binaries. Focusing on the season premiere, when everyone was first meeting and getting used to being divided up racially, it became evident how non-binaristic race is. There were a variety of reactions to the racial divisions among the groups. Some felt they had to represent their people and prove how adequate they were. The African-American tribe chanted "Represent! Represent! Represent!" They were excited to break down some of the stereotypes associated to their race. "We have to step up to the plate…We don't just run track!" Others felt they were not a united group solely because of their race and felt a little apprehensive about being divided this way. One contestant from the Asian-American tribe stated that he was “a little worried that it might play out to caricatures and stereotypes."

Panethnicity plays a big part in observing the show. For example, the Asian-American tribe consisted of four different ethnicities. "We're a mixed group ourselves within the Asian community" states one of the contestants. Though as a society, Americans often group all Asians together as a single unit, the variation within that “race” is very apparent. There are many countries represented in the “Asian” population with a vast array of cultures and customs. Interestingly enough, two of the contestants in the Asian tribe were Filipino. Though by many they are seen as Asian, many would actually consider themselves Pacific Islanders, offering others a large distinction from being Asian. This however introduces aspects of panethnicity.

Many of the “Asian” contestants voiced how they were more than simply Asian (an aspect of intersectionality to be further discussed), but united in a collective effort for the game. Though any team would hopefully work together with a shared goal, the shared social link that they are accustomed to being associated with, offered an additional uniting factor they are probably used to through ideas of panethnicity. Yen Le Espiritu points this out in her article, Asian American Panethnicity, stating “Despite their distinctive histories and separate identities, these ethnic groups have united to protect and promote their collective interests. They need not do so always. But…for certain purposes, panethnic organization takes precedence over tribal or national affiliation” (Espiritu, 2-3).

Panethnicty can promote group consciousness but looking at it with intersectionality, one can also see the importance of claiming multiple aspects of oneself, rather than being grouped into a single unit. Intersectionality is looking beyond the binaries with a multifaceted lens. It looks at the multiple positions one has that are not congruent with the status quo (largely a well off, healthy, white, heterosexual male). It looks inclusively, not exclusively, at race, gender and class, allowing individuals to encompass a wider picture of who they are.

Examples in the show are apparent when the groups are formed and team members do not automatically click just because they are of the same race. There are more elements to themselves that have effects on their appearance to and attitudes of others. The oldest member of the Asian tribe felt a bit like an outsider in regard to his appearance and lifestyle and how he would be seen by his fellow tribe members. "I've never been accepted by the Asian community. Take one look at me! This is a very dangerous position to be in."

When looking at collective consciousness with panethnicity, one must ignore or dismiss the variety of elements that make an individual, or intergroup differences. With intersectionality, all those aspects are taken into consideration in order to discourage a marginalization of multiple significant factors. Though Kimberle Williams Crenshaw focuses on violence and the intersectionality of women of color, she points to the importance of intergroup affiliation and recognition in her article Mapping the Margins. She promotes the dismissal of an “either/or proposition” when looking at individuals and “the need to account for multiple grounds of identity when considering how the social world is constructed” (Crenshaw, 358).

By watching this episode of Survivor with both panethnicity and intersectionality in mind, it is easy to see the relevance and importance of both. It is often instrumentally helpful to be grouped as a race with various ethnicities in order to form a larger collective consciousness. However it is also important to recognize intergroup affiliation in attempts to discourage the marginalization of individuals as containing a single quality when they are really quite multifaceted.

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