Outwit, outplay, outlast.Hosted by Jeff Probst for a milestone total of at least 50 seasons now, Survivor hasnt necessarily been outwardly marketed for LGBTQ+ viewers, but has always attracted a very loyal queer audience while featuring various out and proud contestants on a reality competition series airing on broadcast television. Each season, one Sole Survivor gets to outwit, outplay, and outlast all other castaways, and takes home the grand prize of $1 million dollars.There have been waves of positive and negative LGBTQ+ representation on Survivor and, with it, equally varying waves of queer interest in the franchise. Though this reality series started out strong displaying gay people being just as imperfect (but also just as strong to compete and even win the show) as everyone else, things took a bit of a negative turn in earlier seasons that followed Survivor: Borneo (season 1), and then more positive periods of representation over the years, too.As Survivor reaches 50 seasons and celebrates 25 years of being on the air, it is now a bit clearer to assess, critique, and praise the show for its overall LGBTQ+ visibility faults and all. Ahead, a deep dive exploring some of the most noteworthy LGBTQ+ contestants from Survivor history.Sonja Christopher Survivor: Borneo (Season 1)Sonja Christopher made history in three pretty iconic ways as a contestant on Survivor: Borneo, the first-ever season of show. For one, she was the first out lesbian contestant of the series. Moreover, Sonja was 63 years old while competing, holding the record for oldest woman to ever play Survivor.As member of the Tagi tribe on Survivor, Sonja underperformed in the first-ever Immunity Challenge of the entire U.S. franchise. This was a big enough reason for others in the Tagi tribe to vote her out at Tribal Council, bringing us to Sonjas third milestone: She was the first person to ever get eliminated from Survivor.Sonja reportedly passed away in April 2024 at age 87. Even as the CBS series reaches its 50th season, Sonja would still hold her records and be remembered fondly for being a pioneer in this wild game that still excites fans from all over the world.Richard Hatch Survivor: Borneo (Season 1)The first-eliminated castaway of Survivor: Borneo was a lesbian, and the winner of that first season was a gay man named Richard Hatch. In hindsight, its increasingly hard to divorce the LGBTQ+ community from a show that, for so long, was considered a more masculine alternative to 2000s reality TV shows like Americas Next Top Model, Project Runway, American Idol, and even Big Brother.Besides being an out gay man, Hatchs victory felt notable at the time because he wasnt as lean or athletic as some of his competitors (and most winners that followed Survivor: Borneo). Hatch was also very comfortable walking around naked in the wilderness, which led to a naked fat guy description that didnt seem to bother him.Hatchs public life as the OG Survivor winner has been one of the most intense roller-coaster rides in reality TV history. Between accusing producers of cheating, going to jail for alleged tax evasion while insisting on his innocence, returning for the first-ever Survivor: All-Stars (season 8), competing on The Biggest Loser, and his cheeky return for House of Villains season 2, Hatchs life has been wildly eventful, to say the least.Brandon Quinton Survivor: Africa (Season 3)Brandon Quinton was a 25-year-old bartender from Dallas, Texas when he competed in the third season of series, dubbed Survivor: Africa.Looking back on his reality TV run, Quinton told Entertainment Weekly in a 2021 interview that he was extremely proud that CBS chose to have a really flamboyant (out) gay character on the number-one show in the country, back in 2001 even if he felt like he didnt come off as a beloved character to viewers at the time.Quinton finished Survivor: Africa in eighth place overall just a few days prior to the merger phase of season 3.John Carroll Survivor: Marquesas (Season 4)The typical villainous gay person archetype which can be fun in certain contexts and specific periods in mainstream media was employed in its full shady force against John Carroll on Survivor: Marquesas.Even though this show is all about reaching ones extremes and playing what can be described as a ruthless game, Carroll was edited out to be a cruel villain who was in direct opposition to one of the biggest fan-favorite Survivor players of all time: Rob Mariano, a.k.a. Boston Rob.During season 4 of the show, Boston Rob literally outed Carroll to an entire tribe and then called him a big time queer in a confessional interview, doubling down on the outing for TV audiences. An absolutely wild and unbelievable moment for this show, even back then.Ami Cusack and Scout Cloud Lee Survivor: Vanuatu (Season 9)For both positive and negative reasons, the journeys of Ami Cusack and Scout Cloud Lee were intrinsically linked on Survivor: Vanuatu. The season, which aired in 2004, introduced Cusack as a 31-year-old coffee barista from Lakewood, Colorado; and Lee as a 59-year-old rancher from Stillwater, Oklahoma.On the positive side, the show cast two out lesbians who represented different generations of queer identity, and who they made history when forming a strategic alliance on Survivor: Vanuatu that went against the historically misogynistic and homophobic portrayals of women competing against one another in mainstream media.Cusack and Lee had also been in loving relationships for a while which couldve been another positive moment for the show, but went completely sideways once both of them made it to the famous loved ones visit moment in every Survivor season. As acknowledged by Michael Block on Collider:Ami was visited by her girlfriend, Christy, and Scout was visited by her life partner, Annie Both couples were greeted with a kiss, but producer Mark Burnett removed them from the show in hopes of protecting his franchise by not showing a lesbian kiss at the 8 oclock hour.Ozzy Lusth Survivor: Cook Islands (Season 13)Ozzy Lusth has been one of the biggest heartthrobs in Survivor history, which meant that queer fans of the series were found malfunctioning when he casually came out as bisexual in 2022 while standing up against his Republican Colleagues in a tweet (now X post).Over the years, Ozzy competed on Survivor: Cook Islands (finishing as runner-up), Survivor: Micronesia (finishing in 9th place), Survivor: South Pacific (finishing in 4th place), and Survivor: Game Changers (finishing in 12th place).Parvati Shallow Survivor: Cook Islands (Season 13)The reality TV legend Parvati Shallow started her journey back in 2006, on Survivor: Cook Islands, when she was introduced to the public as a 23-year-old boxer from West Hollywood, California. Parvati finished that first season in sixth place and became an immediate favorite to come back for another season.And that, she did! Parvati returned to compete on Survivor: Micronesia - Fans vs. Favorites (season 16) and went on to win the show. She came back again for Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (season 20), and impressively almost won the show again, finishing as runner-up. Parvatis third comeback season was on Survivor: Winners at War, the all-winners cycle that awarded a $2 million grand prize to its winner. Unfortunately, the odds werent in Parvs favor in WaW, leading to her finish in 15th place.Parvati came out as queer in December 2023 after Winners at War, but before she returned for another season of reality TV while announcing that she was in a relationship with actor and comedian Mae Martin.After being reintroduced to reality TV viewers, as well as new wave of fans, during her run on The Traitors season 2, Parvati was eventually cast on the juggernaut season Survivor: Australia V The World, where she won the competition and became one of very few two-time Survivor winners in history.Todd Herzog Survivor: China (Season 15)It took 14 other seasons for the series to crown its next out gay winner, Todd Herzog, on Survivor: China. At the time, Herzog was a 22-year-old flight attendant from Pleasant Grove, Utah, and identified himself as a superfan of the show.Unlike Hatch, Herzogs placement as a Survivor winner was much more unanimously celebrated due to his infectious love for the game and that he wasnt perceived negatively by any particular major sector of the fandom. Quite the opposite: Herzog remains one of the most popular Survivor winners of all time gay or otherwise.Spencer Duhm Survivor: Tocantins (Season 18)Spencer Duhm had a very memorable run on Survivor: Tocantins as an 18-year-old student from Gainesville, Florida who identified as an out gay man but still feared any repercussions related to his sexuality.Unlike so many other out gay contestants fans had seen on Survivor over the years who, ridiculed/erased or not, were old enough to be sure of themselves, Duhm was very young while competing on the show and was scared of having his sexuality weaponized against him. Within the universe of Survivor, he was also challenged to find a balance between being perceived as a controversial gay castaway like Hatch, or like a very similar (young, gay, superfan) castaway like Herzog.It was unfortunate to see Duhm crumbling under pressure and placing 12th on Survivor: Tocantins despite having so much potential to go further.Zeke Smith Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X (Season 33)Zeke Smith became the first-ever trans man to compete the show during his run on Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, but unfortunately had that experience tainted by a fellow competitor a gay man literally outing him as trans during a Tribal Council.Why havent you told anyone youre transgender? the gay competitor had the nerve to ask. Zeke replied that he didnt want to be labeled the trans Survivor player, but just Zeke the Survivor player, like everyone else.Zeke thankfully received support from his fellow tribe members who were furious at the situation and immediately voted out the man who was responsible for the outing.Erika Casupanan Survivor 41 (Season 41)Erika Casupanan competed on Survivor 41 as a 31-year-old communications manager from Toronto, Ontario and ultimately went on to win the entire season. Though she wasnt out when the season aired in December 2021, she did come out two years later in a pretty memorable Instagram post that had reality TV fans losing their minds.Erika wrote in her coming out post shared on Instagram:Throwback to last New Years Eve when I tried to do the eat grapes while sitting under a table at midnight and youll get a boyfriend by the end of the year trend, but I didnt have grapes, so I chugged wine and instead that year I realized Im a lesbian. Close enough, right? [rainbow emoji].Albeit retroactively, Erika became the first lesbian Survivor winner and we know thats right!