Let’s get one thing straight: Reality TV is not voyeurism.

The many millions of North American viewers who enjoy shows such as Survivor and The Amazing Race and Rock of Love are not voyeurs.

Although we’ve been told by the mainstream media time and time again this is the case, fans of reality programming are not dirty-minded individuals who love to spy on others.

The problem with this uncontested “fact” is one of definition. A voyeur is someone who likes to watch someone else who is unaware he or she is being watched (that’s where the thrill comes from).

The snag is a simple one : Reality stars know they are being watched. They know their words and actions are being broadcast into millions of homes — in fact, they revel in the attention they get.

Take a series such as CBS’s Big Brother, which just concluded its ninth season. As anyone who has watched even a few minutes of a single episode can tell you, it’s impossible for the contestants not to know they are living under a metaphorical microscope.

Residents of the Big Brother house are surrounded by multiple cameras. They play to the cameras. They talk about the cameras. In confessional moments, they speak directly to the camera. If nothing else, they understand they are the focus of intense attention.

They know what they say and do is being consumed by an audience of millions, if not live on the internet, then on nationwide television a few days later.

So if there’s one thing we know about reality-show contestants, it’s that they are hyper-aware of being observed. Heck — on Survivor, it’s all the competing tribes can do not to trip over the multiple camera crews trailing them.

A program like Meerkat Manor is probably the sole exception — but only because the stars are animals, who therefore don’t understand how television works.

So why the misperception?

Laziness provides a partial explanation. When Survivor brought widespread attention to the burgeoning genre eight years ago, its appeal was ascribed to our supposedly universal voyeuristic impulses. It sounded good at the time, so journalists ran with it.

“We like to watch,” blared the cover of Time Magazine over a picture of first-season contestant Jenna Lewis wearing a bikini. The conventional wisdom solidified immediately.

The other major factor is the prejudice against reality TV. Since these shows draw massive audiences, they must appeal to some base instinct in the human race, right?

We must all be Peeping Toms at heart — reality TV is just a vehicle for bringing out our inner pervert, right?

Yeah, right.

The truth is reality-show fans are no different from fans of sitcoms or dramas or sports or any other type of programming. They like compelling characters, exciting storylines and humour. They aren’t twisted voyeurs.

The truth is Candid Camera — where the participants were unwilling and unaware of being filmed — made us into voyeurs more than Survivor or The Apprentice or American Idol ever does. So deal with it.