Oprah Includes Gay Family as Part of Her
“Extraordinary Parents” Show by Josh Aterovis, January 29, 2007
Mark and Andy Sutherland-Trevino describe themselves as a family "just like any other family." Not according to Oprah. The two openly gay dads will be appearing this afternoon at 4 p.m. on The Oprah Winfrey Show in an episode titled "Extraordinary Parents." What makes them so extraordinary? How about the fact that they have seven children, all adopted. Mark and Andy also work with OUTSpoken Families, a national speakers bureau that trains families to work for change in how gay families are talked about and treated. With an audience of seven million watching them on Oprah, there is little doubt the appearance of the Sutherland-Trevino family can't help but change hearts and minds.
AfterElton.com had the chance to speak with the San Antonio, Texas about their family, why they went on Oprah, and what the experience meant to their kids.
AfterElton: What was your Oprah experience like? Mark Sutherland-Trevino: Well, it was very, very whirlwind actually. We flew out on a Wednesday morning, pretty early for San Antonio, and arrived there [Chicago] a few hours later. We spent a few hours riding around in a limo shooting some extra footage, and got back to the hotel. They took our little girls to a very ritzy salon there in Chicago and gave them the star treatment. We spent about $400 on room service that night and just let the kids pig out. We got up early the next morning, went and taped, and we were on a plane by about 1:30 the next day. So it was really quick, but it was fantastic, especially for the kids. That was their first airplane ride, and their first ride in a limo, first ever — and probably last — stay in a hotel that expensive. Over all, it was really, really good experience for everybody.
AE: What was it like meeting Oprah?
MST: Oprah is exactly the way she portrays herself on TV. Very down to earth, welcoming, friendly, really great with the kids. She just seemed to be a very genuine person.
AE: What made you decide to go on the show?
MST: We decided to go on Oprah because we wanted to show a real family and
give real facts about an issue that everybody seems to have an opinion about--gay families. We're like any other family, except that because our family does not have automatic legal status, we have to go to extraordinary measures to protect each other and our children. As gay fathers, Andy and I understand that protecting our children is the most important thing we can do as parents and local politicians continue to try to ban lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people from adopting kids or being foster parents.
AE: Does Oprah agree that gay families need better protection? MST: We didn't get a chance to discuss those kinds of issues with her, but I'm hoping that because she specifically requested a gay or lesbian family to be on this particular show, that means she's leaning in that direction.
AE: What do you believe is the biggest issue facing gay families in the US today? MST: Probably the biggest issue I think facing any gay family right now is the lack of legal protection. We have no marriage rights first of all. When you go to adopt children, or if you have children, it makes it difficult to protect them and your family legally.
