I have only been aware of this story for about an hour and I have mixed feelings on it. I don't know these people at all. I did go watch the video link to the interview. I don't like tabloid tv so I stay away from this kind of thing normally, but this hits close to home.
My first impressions (subject to change if I learn more) is that this was for this couple first and foremost a financial decision. They found a loophole and exploited it to personal benefit. What is problematic for me is that "they" have presented this as a quick decision anyone can make that had all the impact of a nose job, and for them it seems true. When I say "they" I don't know what might be left on the editing floor, Oprah is known for sensationalism, etc..
Unfortunately, for the viewing public, this may be what they believe about trans* persons going forward without any more information. It effectively negates the torture most trans people live through in their efforts to find and define themselves as transgendered. I believe it would have been a much better representation of the "facts" to present the story as one about the lengths some gay couples have to gone to just to receive equal treatment on the marriage front, without tagging the term trans* onto it.
In my opinion (for the moment) that is what the actual story was, and the Oprah machine found a way to cash in on the current headline creating term of "Trans".
I will be interested to see what others have to say.
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