ABSTRACT
Same-sex behavior was an open secret throughout most of world history, but homosexual roles and identities were invented in the middle of the nineteenth century. Persons with such affinities were made invisible. Then by the turn of the twentieth century, they were interpreted as unnatural, unhealthy, and criminal—even all three, despite the inherent contradiction. Journalists persistently villainized the LGBT community with falsehoods and innuendo, which even today still thrive in some media outlets.
