Survivor: The Amazon – Whining Women and Manly Men

Last week, I was surprised at how the typical gender roles seemed to be almost reversed within the tribes of men and women. This week the men lived up to what I would consider a group of men to do and how I would expect them to perform. The women just got themselves into a bigger mess. There is bickering and whining and bitching and well, when you get a bunch of women together, this is generally what you can expect. But not to the point that it rips your tribe apart and makes you a pathetic heap of losers and whiners. It was terrible watching Jaburu this week!

Everything from Heidi's absolutely insane notion that they don't like her because she's cute (I'll discuss this more in a minute) to Jenna's, "Help, it's a piranha"! Umm, yeah, that's what you're supposed to catch! None of it made much sense and I really hope they offer up some sort of switch or early merge to save me from watching more of this crap next week.

Maybe Heidi needs a pretty, not to mention smart, girl (like Elisabeth) put on her tribe so she can see that she's really not all that she thinks she is! I really want to make her see the difference because I am SO SICK of listening to her. If she keeps it up, I'm going to decide she doesn't exist. She's a pain in the ass, she won't do her share of work, her hair is bad, her smile scares me, and her eyebrows are freaky-looking. Maybe Vidal Sassoon or whoever that guy with the accent is can help her out.

Heidi's and Jenna's notion that there is animosity towards them because they are cute and have good bodies is giving me a headache. If there is animosity there it's because they aren't doing their fair share of work and they think they're better than everyone else. Frankly, it's getting really old really fast. Please bring some men into this tribe so these two have something else to focus on besides their own breasts. Or maybe it's just Heidi's breasts. In any event, these two need another focus. Perhaps a penis or two will ease the tension in this tribe.

Deena is holding Jaburu together. Jeanne may be as well but we don't see too much of her. I've had people e-mail me saying they don't understand why Deena has aligned herself with the little twits. I completely understand why she's done it. She can control them. It may come back to bite her in the ass later on but, for now, it's keeping her in the game and it got JoAnna (her biggest threat) out. I think Deena is playing a smart game, as is Christy.

It's too bad to see all of those "when you get a bunch of women together" sayings coming true. They need to pull it together regardless of hormones. They are trying to survive in the jungle and they aren't doing a very good job of it. They can't even manage to get along. While it was awful having to watch Jaburu, it wasn't all that surprising when you consider how a group of women will usually interact with each other without any men present.

The men, on the other hand, were great to watch this week! They didn't have all the backstabbing and nitpicking going on. In general, men don't act or react that way. They may from time to time but for the most part, they get it out and it's over and done with. Alex and Roger had a disagreement early on regarding homosexuality, they each said how they felt and that was that. Men are fairly simple. And it's not a bad thing.

These men out there are most likely thinking, "Fish, fire, water..." That's about it unless a challenge comes up. When that happens, they are thinking, "Fish, fire, water, win, women." They are surviving and faring better than the women because they only deal with the basic issues of survival and not the complex issues of "who's my best friend and who's going to bathe with me today." You know, the really complex and important issues that Heidi is dealing with.

The guys haven't had too much trouble bonding with one another either. Yes, we saw Matthew being left behind but we also saw him out fishing with Dave and Alex. I somehow can't see Jenna and Christy out fishing together. The spirit at Tambaqui is great! And, maybe it's Butch's banner that's making the difference, but I like this tribe and how they interact. They work well together and seem to get along with each other despite their differences. It's like a big boys campout or something.

As for the individual players, Matthew still intrigues me – there is a darkness about him. He's amazing to watch, yet at the same time he's a little scary. I can't quite put a finger on what it is. He's definitely on the outside of his tribe but I don't think he's going anywhere for a while. He's smart and he definitely has an air of sophistication about him. I hope he sticks around long enough for me to figure him out.

As for the whole tribal dynamics, I'm hoping for a shake-up next week. I think the men vs. the women has gone on long enough. It's been interesting to see the way things have played out but it's time to mix them up. I just have one question... why do the women carry their machetes everywhere? I keep noticing that and I don't know why they do that. Is it to kill snakes and spiders... or one another?

Paris Cosby co-owns, edits, and writes parenting articles for momsaidso.com. She can be reached at paris@momsaidso.com

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