Spencer Duhm, the UF student from Lakeland who was bumped last night from Survivor, says on the TV show's website that the only thing that he wouldn't do for a million dollars is "Snakes. I just don't do snakes." Apparently, he also doesn't do coming out; though billed as "openly gay," he was anything but open in last night's episode, skipping an opportunity to respond to direct questions about who he was dating, later explaining that he didn't think it was a good idea strategically to come out, especially with a good ol' Southern boy like tribe-mate JT around. As it turned out, JT voted him out because Spencer, a member of UF's crew team, did poorly in an athletic challenge. We don't know what editing left out, but up to that point Spencer had seemed kind of reserved, and peripheral to the main action; if he'd been open about his life, maybe he would have been able to forge stronger alliances.
In any case, his whole approach seemed kind of wussy, not to mention politically backward, especially given all the contestants on this and other reality shows who have been very open about their sexuality and managed to do very well. Maybe Spencer gets this attitude from his mother.
This article appears in Mar 11-17, 2009.
