In celebration of Pride Month, we would like to honor a trailblazing castaway from Survivor Philippines who significantly promoted LGBTQIA+ visibility in Philippine television and the international Survivor franchise as a whole. This remains to be a big deal to this day among us Filipino Survivor fans because our country is still predominantly conservative and Catholic, though in recent years, with the popularity of Drag Race Philippines and Drag Den, acceptance of the LGBTQIA+ is becoming more mainstreamed.
A pivotal moment in Philippine television occurred in 2009 when two major reality series, ABS-CBN's Pinoy Big Brother and GMA's Survivor Philippines, each cast the country's first transgender contestants. For Survivor Philippines, this groundbreaking individual was Justine Ferrer, who also happened to be the first transgender to appear in any Survivor franchise.
Justine, the family breadwinner, worked in Japan as a singer at age 19, competed in gay beauty pageants, owned a buy-and-sell business, and managed a baby ultrasound company. At some point in her life, she underwent gender reassignment surgery to align her body with her true identity. She appeared in the Philippine version's second season which was set in Palau. In the early days of the game, Justine had shown she had a strong personality, being opinionated and sarcastic when displeased.
During the first Immunity Challenge, Justine's tribe, Koror, lost. The host, Paolo Bediones, revealed that the "eyes" of the tribal Immunity Idol were actually bracelets, one of which was given by the winning tribe to a member of the losing tribe, granting that player individual immunity for the upcoming Tribal Council. The winning tribe, Airai, gave the first Immunity Bracelet to one member of Koror, Carol Gementiza, Koror's oldest and weakest member, while the other bracelet remained with Paolo until further notice.
With their initial target immune, Koror had to choose another member to vote out. That afternoon, Justine confided in the other women about her identity as a transgender woman. Unfortunately, this led to her being secretly ostracized and unanimously voted out first by her tribe. Unbeknownst to her tribemates, Justine was sent to Redemption Island, known in the Philippine version as Isla Purgatoryo. There, Paolo presented her with the second Immunity Bracelet. She was not entirely alone on the island, however, as she was accompanied by a golden retriever named Jumbo (yes, a dog). As her tribe won Reward Challenges, Justine secretly received a portion of their rewards.
After each Tribal Council, Justine faced the latest voted-out player in a "Face-Off Challenge," with the winner earning the right to stay on the island. Facing and defeating various competitors, including two of the season's physically strongest men, a female Philippine Air Force pilot, and a retired professional basketball player, Justine ultimately won the final challenge, earning her place in the merged tribe, Sonsorol. She was welcomed back to the game with open arms, with her former tribemates cheering her on and later apologizing for their mistreatment of her. Justine's winning streak in Isla Purgatoryo turned her tribemates' impression of her from challenge liability to legitimate threat. Justine made it all the way to the Final Tribal Council, but despite gaining respect from the jury, she came up one vote short, finishing as the season's runner-up in a close 4-3-0 vote.
Following her appearance on Survivor Philippines, Justine briefly pursued an acting career, starring in the 2010 indie film Pulupot, a story that closely mirrored her own life. While she has kept a low profile in recent years, she remains an icon in Philippine reality television and the local LGBTQIA+ community.
Feel free to share your experiences with foreign versions of Survivor in this thread!
P.S. The video below was Justine's re-entry to the game. It is mostly in Filipino, but is has parts in English. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGmfHh4Aouw&pp=ygUcc3Vydml2b3IgcGhpbGlwcGluZXMganVzdGluZQ%3D%3D