The L Word's Katherine Moennig realised she was a lesbian while working on the show

If, like me, you've been gobbling up news of The L Word: Generation Q reboot since you heard it was happening, then it's likely you'll also be obsessed with Katherine Moennig. Kate has played Shane McCutcheon on the show since it began 15 years ago. And anyone who's watched The L Word will tell you Shane was an iconic character. Shane was responsible for many LGBTQ+ women figuring out they weren't straight, and also had a shag haircut years before they became trendy.

Kate Moennig doesn't give interviews all that often but she just sat down for an open chat with RuPaul and Michelle Visage on RuPaul's podcast, What's the Tee?

When RuPaul asked her if she always knew she was a lesbian, and Kate said, "Well, I grew up Catholic and I went to Catholic school for 13 years so I wasn’t really in an environment to explore that, especially at that time in the ‘80s and the ‘90s.

Leisha Hailey (left) who plays Alice on The L Word, and her pal and cast member Katherine Moennig

"Now I believe if I was in high school now I would see it more. Back then you didn’t. That shit did not exist."

Kate told Ru and Michelle that she'd dated guys before working on the show, and that she was able to "appreciate their beauty".

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But she'd ask herself why she just didn't care about them and their relationships. "I didn’t know what that was. I didn’t have the vocabulary for it yet," she added.

She then said it wasn't until she got The L Word gig that she really figured it out. "Oddly enough, when I got The L Word, that’s where my wheels started turning."

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Kate explained the show was the first time she'd been in an environment where sexuality and identity were so openly discussed.

"Everyone was open and proud and confident. I’d never seen that before. Never in my life," she said.

The new series of The L Word starts in December on Showtime.

[h/t The Advocate]