So Gay For You is about friendship, found family and unknown stories from the beloved lesbian show
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGE BY SHOWTIME
Calling all fans of The L Word! Its stars Leisha Hailey and Kate Moennig have a book coming out next year called So Gay For You: Friendship, Found Family & The Show That Started It All.
The book is due to be released in June 2025. It promises readers a glimpse into previously unheard stories about the making of The L Word and Kate and Leisha’s lives, from being closeted queer kids to LGBTQIA icons.
It will also be a love letter to the power of queer friendships. Kate and Leisha have been friends since appearing on The L Word together and now co-host a podcast, PANTS, where they recap episodes of the hit lesbian show.
An exclusive excerpt, focusing on the pair’s first meeting, was published by People Magazine last month. In it, Kate describes Leisha’s hair as “a wispy weed whacker-looking haircut,” while Leisha calls Kate a “drop-dead gorgeous creature with the plumpest cherry lips”.
The excerpt goes on to reveal how Kate was sure Leisha would get the role of Shane McCuthcheon on The L Word. She describes how they were the last two to go in, and when she watched Leisha be called up and could see a comb sticking out of her back pocket, Kate was certain the casting team had found what they were looking for. Little did they know that they were both about to be cast in one of the greatest sapphic shows to air on television, with Kate as Shane and Leisha as Alice Pieszecki, and would soon become firm friends.
The book continues from their first meeting and charts their friendship over the following decades and has been praised by other queer icons. Tegan Quin, one half of Tegan and Sara, said So Gay For You is “must-read queer lit” and a “testament to the enduring legacy of The L Word and the culture-changing stars at its heart”.
Rosie O’Donnell has also commented on the book, and said: “So Gay for You is a beautiful story of two besties who also played besties on the ground breaking series The L Word. Read this book, you will love it as I did.”
So Gay For You: Friendship, Found Family, And Th Show That Started It All will be released on 3 June 2025
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