Surviving The Battle Of The Sexes

Sometimes, when men compete against women, things can quickly get heated. And with that in mind, Survivor: The Amazon pits men against women with volatile results.

"There is no way that women are going to beat us," said Survivor: The Amazon contestant Rob Cesternino on the first episode of the show. "Physically, mentally or whatever."

Guess who won the first immunity challenge? Not the guys.

It's a battle of the sexes set deep in the world's largest rainforest. On Survivor: The Amazon, the all-female Jaburu tribe is pitted against the all-male Tambaqui tribe, which won immunity the second week.

"We're fascinated by a battle-of-the-sexes scenario, because it seems so unnatural," says David Zinczenko, editor of Men's Health Magazine. "To suddenly put them together and have them compete seems fascinating and creates a lot of drama."

Zinczenko says battles of the sexes can often ignite emotions. He cites the 1973 tennis match between woman tennis champion Billy Jean King and Bobby Riggs, who once boasted, "Any half-decent male player could defeat even the best female players."

"The Bobby Riggs-Billy J. King tennis match was such a great spectacle because it challenged established gender roles — men as provider and protector and women as damsel in distress," says Zinczenko. "Any time that we step out of those roles, tension mounts."

The women did seem a bit like damsels in distress when it came to building a shelter in the first days on the show. But they surprised the men when they won the first two challenges.

"Physiologically, it's a really interesting time to have this battle of the sexes because women have never been stronger, and I'm dying to see how the competition ends up," says Atoosa Rubinstein, editor of Cosmo Girl Magazine.

She says, like many women, she'll be rooting for the Jabaru tribe.

"Women are going to root for their own gender," says Rubinstein. "We grew up wearing T-shirts saying: 'Anything boys can do, girls can do better.' So we're always going to be there for our sisters."

But sometimes the battle lines are blurred. On the next episode of Survivor: The Amazon, the reward challenge becomes an opportunity for the male and female tribes to interact. And the men may begin to lose their focus as they speculate about which women they may have a chance with.

Seeing that they might have an advantage, Heidi Strobel, Shawna Mitchell and Jenna Morasca bathe topless and promise they'll do the same in front of the men, if necessary, to secure their votes in the future.

And to strengthen the tribe, the women pick Deena Bennett as their leader. However, some of the women hope she will destroy herself.

On the men's side, a battle between young and old emerges — leading to a critical decision for one Survivor caught in the middle.

As Survivor: The Amazon heads into its third week, both genders agree that the competition has been fierce.

"A battle of the sexes is absolutely going to turn antagonistic because you have two genders competing and everything is on the line," says Zinczenko.

"It's always a great thing to see men and women compete because it gets us thinking how far have we come as women and how far do we need to go," says Rubinstein.