February 1, 2007 — The Fox reality series Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy will feature its first same-sex couple in a two-part episode airing on two consecutive Fridays: Feb. 2 and Feb. 9. Judy Lane and her partner, Pepper, share a home in San Diego, CA with their two young children, Corey and Shea. In the episode, Judy trades places with Julie Chase, who lives in Oregon with her husband, Charlie, and their teenage daughters, Kaci and Cindy.

Though both couples have been together for nearly 20 years, their home environments couldn't be more different. Judy and Pepper's home is filled with love and laughter. Pepper says that in their home, "Children come first," and Judy describes their family as "loving and kind." Alternatively, Julie makes fun of people who are different from her, while her husband calls their daughters derogatory names that can't be aired on network television.

Judy and Pepper attempt to reach their new "spouses" through displays of good parenting and how to be loving, open-minded people, but they face an uphill battle: Julie points and laughs at two women holding hands in the Hillcrest district of San Diego, and equates Pepper's sexual orientation to having a birth defect.

"While Julie's behavior and statements are shocking, she exemplifies the discrimination and intolerance that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people face in this country every day," says GLAAD Entertainment Media Director Damon Romine. "Viewers of Trading Spouses will see that gay and lesbian parents can provide a stable, supportive and loving home for their children, setting an example for all parents both gay and straight."

Two years ago, ABC's similar series Wife Swap featured its first same-sex family. The episode was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award — Outstanding Reality Program.

Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy airs Fridays at 9PM on Fox.

Official site:
http://www.fox.com/tradingspouses/

Related article:
http://www.glaad.org/publications/archive_detail.php?id=3782&PHPSESSID=f