Is there a limit to gay reality TV wins?

USA Today put together a look at the winners of popular and gay-fave professional reality competition shows — HGTV Design Star, Project Runway, Hell's Kitchen, Top Chef and The Next Food Network Star — asking how many have found success after winning. The recap also offers an interesting snapshot of these shows' histories.

One tidbit to catch my interest, as someone who pays attention to these things, is how Project Runway is the only one that didn't seem to say "That's enough" after crowning one GLBT winner. (I suspect media watchdogs who pay attention to racial minorities in the media would make a similar observation.)

That stands out to me because I sometimes check out the message boards for these shows and it's not uncommon to see viewers dismissing a gay competitor because someone gay already won. It's a perspective Christie Keith also noticed when she talked with the gay competitors on Design Star's second and third seasons.

Project Runway's two gay winners, Jay McCarroll and Christian Siriano

There are so many factors that go into determining a reality show winner — which starts with casting, includes the judges' subjective reactions to each challenge, potential storylines that pop up in filming and ends with the producer consultation we're warned about in the fine print — it's impossible to say if the shows have the same attitude. However, on a show like HGTV Design Star where (until recently) viewers determined the winner, the audience's "We already let a gay person win" attitude certainly plays a role.

Still, it raises the question — does it feel like a lost cause to cheer for Team Gay if there's already been a gay winner?