[Jamie89]

Also, it won't just mean a lot in terms of the shows past, but it will change the average viewers perception of what a winner is, what 'type' of person we expect a winner to be, which may affect future series in terms of how people vote. For example, people always say things like "a black woman could never win" etc etc, and although I totally get where people are coming from, I do sometimes think that there's a certain amount of 'self-fulfilling prophecy' in that. Because some people, if they genuinely believe it, may be less inclined to spend their money on what they perceive to be a wasted vote. And also, just the fact that a statement like that (which when you think about it is archaic beyond belief) will no longer be able to be made, after 16 years of it being 'valid', is a huge (albeit belated) step forward for the show and its fans.