... the cover of UK gay mag Attitude, that is. Take a gander: We've reported on the British soap Skins -- which features gay teen character Maxxie (on the left, as played by actor Mitch Hewer) -- a few times in the past, but a dear reader recently wrote in with a detailed account of a recent gay-heavy episode that moved Maxxie's sexuality front and center. Here's a choice bit:

Maxxie returns to his room, where he finds Michelle passed out on Tony's bed. Tony says she's completely wasted. Maxxie approaches Tony, telling him he has to stop messing around. Tony shushes him and takes off his shirt. They kiss, then Tony pulls off Maxxie's shirt and kisses his way down Maxxie's chest. As Tony unzips Maxxie's pants, we see that Michelle is awake, watching them in shock. She then pretends to be asleep again.

Well! Not exactly Laguna Beach, is it? From what I can tell, this and the other storylines tangential to Maxxie (which has to be the worst queer character name since Zarf) -- which includes an ongoing conflict with his Muslim best friend, Anwar -- manage to make Maxxie's sexuality all about the people around him, not actually about him. Does this kid have anything to do other than react to the fact that his friends are completely freaked out by him? Let's hope he picks up a hobby. We won't know for sure how well Skins tells Maxxie's story until it gets picked up Stateside, if that ever happens. In the meantime, we'll try to keep you posted on any developments. Here's a preview of the episode, for your enjoyment: