Ian Then Some...The Articles & Interviews
Out Magazine
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Take a few boys hunky enough to grace an Abercrombie & Fitch catalog, a
gender-bending girl whom Shakespeare would love, and one picturesque New England
prep school, and you have all the makings of the summer's hottest new teen soap,
the WB's Young Americans.
Created by Steven Antin (who also penned the gay-inclusive
Inside Monkey Zetterland),
the show was launched from a Dawson's
Creek crossover this past spring. But
unlike Dawson and Pacey, the boys on this show proudly reveal rippling abs-and
did so within the first 20 minutes of the first episode, when during a routine
sophomore hazing they were stripped to their boxer shorts and left in the town
square. One student who avoided the mayhem was Jake, a lass who dresses as a
lad so she can attend the prestigious Rawley Academy. "The other day I was in
costume and I got directed to the men's room by a total stranger," laughs
Katherine Moennig, who plays Jake-and, ironically, also went up for the leading
role in Boys Don't Cry.
"After a while I get so into it that I freak out a little-like I'm losing who I
am." Things started off in more confusing way for Jake's love interest,
Hamilton, who previously considered himself 100% hetero. "His poor character is
going through so many conflicts," says Moennig. "When I reveal myself to him
[as a girl], the character has a huge wash of relief, knowing that he's not
gay." Moennig, a former tomboy, says she's totally comfortable walking in men's
shoes-although she's stopped using crotch-enhancing socks. "I did it for a
while, but then I just got used to the walk," she explains. "Now I have it
down. Once you get the rhythm, you're safe."