Today, on International LGBT Pride Day, we want to recognize all the contestants of Survivor México who have given visibility and representation to the LGBT+ community on the show. Since its first season, Survivor México has stood out for accepting members of the community without discrimination or distinction, being one of the first reality shows in Mexico to have true diversity among its contestants.
One of the greatest exponents of LGBT+ visibility on the show is Nahomi Mejía, one of the first, if not the first, transgender women to participate in a reality competition show in Mexico. Nahomi is a professional makeup artist and model born in Costa Rica, who moved to Mexico upon reaching adulthood, where she began her transition to her true self.
Nahomi participated in the third and fourth seasons of Survivor México. On both occasions, she stood out for her strength, passion, and survival skills. Despite some conflicts, Nahomi even became a mother figure to several contestants. Due to a twist where contestants competed for so-called Symbols, with the one accumulating the most securing a spot in the finale, an accomplishment that Nahomi achieved in her first season. Subsequently, Nahomi lost the finale decided by public vote. In her second opportunity, Nahomi reached a well-deserved sixth place.
Unfortunately, outside the show, Nahomi faced a significant amount of hate comments on social media, accompanied by transphobic attacks based on the excuse that a transgender woman should not compete against cisgender women. Possibly, transphobia was one of the reasons Nahomi did not become the Sole Survivor of Survivor México, showing that much remains to be done in Mexico and the world for a more tolerant and respectful society.
One of Nahomi's most significant moments on the show was when she opened her heart and talked about her life story and transition, being one of the first times these topics were addressed with complete freedom on national television. Nahomi spoke about the origin of her name from her childhood, making a beautiful analogy about her transition: “The name Nahomi was born from a book, I remember, I was 8 or 9 years old, and it was the story of a caterpillar, and I identified a lot with it because it was the ugliest little worm in its village, and no one thought that caterpillar would turn into a butterfly, would fly higher than everyone, and would bring food to the village. I knew my name would be Nahomi since I was 10 years old. I compare my life to the metamorphosis of a butterfly.”
Another moment of LGBT+ visibility was when contestant Gabo Cuevas, in the third season, spoke about his relationship with his father after watching a video of him. He mentioned that the shirt he wore to Survivor was a gift from his father many years ago, and he talked about how difficult it has been for his father, who is a pastor, to accept him as a homosexual: “The estrangement between my father and me began the day I told him I was a homosexual. For many years I tried to understand why my father wasn’t happy, why he had trouble accepting his son. And I learned that I can't change my dad's mindset, that he's the dad I got, that this is the family I got. And that shirt gave me empowerment, love, and strength. I love him, that's the reality, he knows it, I've told him. And Survivor has taught me that. When I saw that video, I got very emotional because I know there's hope outside that we can recover many years, many talks, many laughs.”
Additionally, we celebrate the fact that in four out of the five seasons of Survivor México, there has been an LGBT+ representative in the finale. And for the first time in this fifth season, Esmeralda Zamora became the first female and LGBT+ community member to win Survivor México.
Finally, we recognize all those who, for some reason or another, do not appear in the cover photo due to their privacy or the inability to confirm their belonging to the LGBT+ community, those who are in the closet, and all the members of the Survivor México staff and production who belong to the community.
Let this day serve as a reminder of the importance of continuing to fight, because all stories must be told. May people in the LGBT+ community have less fear of being censored on the show, whether by production or by limiting themselves in expressing, talking about their lives, or communicating with their partners. May visibility and acceptance transcend to the public so that anyone in the LGBT+ community understands that there is nothing wrong with them and that others can build their understanding and tolerance towards the community.