Hello & Happy October!
Welcome to the 5th entry in my series on casting archetypes found on MTV’s The Challenge. The previous articles are:
As always, if you disagree with my categorizing, please read the nota benes I included in my first 2 entries in this series before calling for me to be “cancelled.” I am a social justice warrior, strong feminist, queer champion, trans ally, etc. that is against stereotyping and pigeonholing. I don’t like the archetypes on shows like The Challenge, Big Brother, and Survivor, but it’s naive to act like they don’t exist.
So let’s get to the fifth entry — Alpha Women.
Alpha Women came into the game strong and excelled without taking almost any time to get their footing. They are strong-willed and dominant in athletics and/or politics, often being the leaders on their teams or in their pairs. They aren’t easily intimidated and do not kowtow to other players. They have BDE.
And interestingly, many of the Alpha Women identify as bisexual or lesbian — in contrast to last week’s entry on “Weak Gay Men.” Stereotypical? Yes. But surprising? No.
Let’s hop to it.
Alpha Women — the total package
Emily Bailey — originated on RR Second Adventure; debuted on Extreme Challenge
Holly Brentson — originated on RR Maximum Velocity Tour; debuted on Battle of the Seasons 1
Coral Smith — originated on RW Back to New York; debuted on Battle of the Seasons 1
Evelyn Smith — originated & debuted on Fresh Meat 1
Tori Hall — originated on RR Viewers’ Revenge; debuted on Gauntlet 3
Kellyanne Judd — originated on RW Sydney; debuted on The Island
Laurel Stucky — originated & debuted on Fresh Meat 2
Heather Cooke — originated on RW Las Vegas 2; debuted on Rivals 2
Nicole Zanatta — originated on RW Skeletons; debuted on Invasion
Kam Williams — originated on Are You the One 5; debuted on Vendettas
Natalie “Ninja” Duran — originated on American Ninja Warrior; debuted on War of the Worlds 1
Alpha Women lite
This would be the Rulebreakers section, where these women have some of the characteristics of full-octane Alpha Women but are lacking a certain je ne sais quoi. So I broke them down into subcategories: they either:
- took a while to get their footing
- did not find dominant success on The Challenge
- lack the IDGAF attitude that is essential for a true Alpha.
And then at the bottom, there is one special case who you might recognize ;)
Here we go.
Took a while to warm up to it
Kina Dean — originated on RR X-Treme; debuted on Sexes 2
Jodi Weatherton — originated on RR X-Treme; debuted on Inferno 2
Jenn Grijalva — originated on RW Denver; debuted on Inferno 3
Sarah Rice — originated on RW Brooklyn; debuted on The Ruins
Theresa Gonzalez — originated & debuted on Fresh Meat 2
Camila Nakagawa — originated on Spring Break Challenge; debuted on Cutthroat
Nia Moore — originated on RW Portland; debuted on Free Agents
Ashley Mitchell — originated on RW Ex-Plosion; debuted on Rivals 3
Have the attitude but not the success
Beth Stolarczyk — originated on RW Los Angeles; debuted on RW/RR Challenge
Tina Barta — originated on RR South Pacific; debuted on Gauntlet 1
Aneesa Ferreira — originated on RW Chicago; debuted on Sexes 1
Jo Rhodes — originated on RW San Francisco; debuted on Gauntlet 2
Brianna Taylor — originated on RW Hollywood; debuted on The Ruins
Sandy Kang — originated & debuted on Fresh Meat 2
Marie Roda — originated on RW St Thomas; debuted on Battle of the Seasons 2
Amanda Garcia — originated on Are You the One 3; debuted on Rivals 3
Kailah Casillas — originated on RW Go Big or Go Home; debuted on Invasion
Melissa Reeves — originated on Ex on the Beach UK 2; debuted on Vendettas
Da’Vonne Rogers — originated on Big Brother 17; debuted on Final Reckoning
Dee Nguyen — originated on Geordie Shore 17; debuted on War of the Worlds 1
Have the success but not the attitude
Holly Shand — originated on RR Latin America; debuted on Challenge 2000
Ellen Cho — originated on RR The Quest; debuted on Sexes 1
Ruthie Alcaide — originated on RW Hawaii; debuted on Sexes 1
Rachel Robinson — originated on RR Campus Crawl; debuted on Sexes 1
Christena Pyle — originated on RR South Pacific; debuted on Inferno 1
Sophia Pasquis — originated on RR The Quest; debuted on Sexes 2
Brittini Sherrod — originated on RW Hollywood; debuted on Duel 2
Cara Maria Sorbello — originated & debuted on Fresh Meat 2
Emily Schromm — originated on RW DC; debuted on Cutthroat
Unknown
Jenny West — originated on Survival of the Fittest UK; debuted on War of the Worlds 2
- She killed the second swimming daily on War of the Worlds 2 and now appears to be Team UK’s strongest competitor. I’m looking forward to what else she accomplishes this season!
