Homosexual narrative
The homosexual narrative has gone through quite a few revisions since "homosexuality" as a concept was first created in the mid- to late 19th century.
Throughout most of human history, "homosexuality" as a concept did not exist. The situation was as follows:
- There were men, and there were women, and they all engaged in sexual activity with each other.
- Most men, most of the time (especially as adults), tended to engage mostly in sexual activity with females.
- Most men, at least some of the time (especially when young) engaged in some sexual activity with other males, either of the same age group or a different age group (usually an older one, when they were younger).
- Some men, some of the time, engaged in sexual activity with both males and females.
- A small percentage of men engaged in sexual activity mostly with other males.
- Of these, some men engaged mostly in sexual activity with boys aged 12 to 17.
- Other men engaged in sexual activity mostly with boys aged 8 to 13.
Homosexuality (in the Western world) was originally seen as a "moral deficit"--as a "sin"--and was dealt with by religious authorities. With the weakening of religious authority, others then took over the role of those morally condemning this form of sexuality, but they did so under the guise of "science" (actually, as pseudoscience--they did not base their theories on any valid research).
These people (the early "psychiatrists") defined "homosexuality" as a "perversion" (the "normal sexual instinct" deviated from what they considered to be "normal") and an "inversion" (instead of the "normal sexual instinct" being sexual interest in a female, it became reversed).
Homosexuality also became formally criminalized, with draconian punishments, and had now become "medicalized" as well. The psychiatrists (claiming to be "doctors") assumed (with no basis in empirical research or "facts") that homosexuals were "sick patients in need of psychological treatment" by the psychiatrists.
In the early part of the 20th century "psychiatrists" (with no qualifications, other than those they proclaimed for themselves) were called on to make pronouncements on the "mental state" of men who were on trial for violent sexual crimes, mostly crimes involving heterosexuals but sometimes crimes involving homosexuals. The media--excited at the thought of "sexual perversions" and "deviates" (and sensing the huge amounts of money to be made by sensationalizing these things) then jumped on the bandwagon, and promoted the ideas of these so-called "experts" to the public. The public, of course, believed anything and everything that was reported in the press.
Homosexuals were described in the press in histrionic and highly emotional terms--as "monsters," as "perverts," as "deviates," "murderers," "molesters of children," etc.
The (self-proclaimed) "medical experts" (the psychiatrists) developed a number of procedures they (falsely) claimed could "cure" the (now medicalized) condition called "homosexuality". Some of the "cures" included castration of the suspected "homosexuals". Another "cure" that was in vogue for several decades was the destruction of part of the brains of men suspected of being "homosexual". This procedure took several forms, and was called "lobotomy". Yes, the "homosexual" behavior ceased in these men after "treatment" (as did heterosexual behavior, as well)--along with most other normal behaviors. It left men so treated as only slightly better than "vegetables". But it was claimed to be "a great success".
In the 60s and 70s the homosexuals finally organized, and began to fight back. Eventually they forced the American Psychological Association to remove most references to homosexuality from the APA DSM guide.
Today, "pedophiles" have taken the place of homosexuals as the objects of hate, scorn, and extreme moral condemnation, with the press demonizing "child molesters" rather than homosexuals.
