During our Loud & Proud series, we’ve been looking back at what have been the key, formative moments that have helped create the LGBT culture we have in 2016.
However, while today it feels like celebrations of queer culture are more prevalent than ever before, it’s important to remember that there hasn’t always been such a warm and welcoming atmosphere towards gay and trans people, and in the past, these key moments have been met with derision and hostility.
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Even moments that are now considered key in the LGBT timeline over the years only received lukewarm receptions at best, as evidenced here, where we have picked 14 key moments that were met with a negative reaction at the time….
1895 - Oscar Wilde's Imprisonment

Everett Collection/Rex/Shutterstock
Oscar Wilde has long been regarded as one of the key figures in gay history, especially here in Britain.
However, during his own era, he was publicly derided and imprisoned for being gay. Now celebrated as one of our greatest minds, he recalled in ‘De Profundis’: “On November 13th, 1895, I was brought down here from London. From two o’clock till half-past two on that day I had to stand on the centre platform of Clapham Junction in convict dress, and handcuffed, for the world to look at.
“When people saw me they laughed. Each train as it came up swelled the audience. Nothing could exceed their amusement. That was, of course, before they knew who I was. As soon as they had been informed, they laughed still more.”
However, during his own era, he was publicly derided and imprisoned for being gay. Now celebrated as one of our greatest minds, he recalled in ‘De Profundis’: “On November 13th, 1895, I was brought down here from London. From two o’clock till half-past two on that day I had to stand on the centre platform of Clapham Junction in convict dress, and handcuffed, for the world to look at.
“When people saw me they laughed. Each train as it came up swelled the audience. Nothing could exceed their amusement. That was, of course, before they knew who I was. As soon as they had been informed, they laughed still more.”
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1985 - Rock Hudson Reveals He Has AIDS

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Rock Hudson never came out publicly during his lifetime, but did tell fans he had been diagnosed with AIDS in the months before his untimely death. After disclosing that he was living with the disease, he unfairly faced a backlash for a scene in ‘Dynasty’, where he kissed fellow star Linda Evans, who had been unaware of his illness.
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1991 - Freddie Mercury Dies Just Days After Telling The World He Had AIDS

The Sun
The press took a distasteful tone as it documented the Queen frontman’s final days, including this front page of The Sun, featuring a long-lens photograph of the ailing Freddie Mercury, taken on private property.
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2000 - 'Queer As Folk'

Queer As Folk
The infamous ‘rimming’ scene from ‘Queer As Folk’ is still controversial, with Netflix even making the decision to edit out the much-discussed moment when it began streaming the series, proving the show was perhaps ahead of its time, even by today’s standards.
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2009 - Jan Moir’s Infamous Column About Stephen Gately Riles Readers

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Less than a week after the tragic death of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately, Jan Moir wrote a now-notorious column in the Daily Mail, distastefully describing his death as “not a natural one” and casting aspersions about the “happy-ever-after myth” of civil partnerships.
Despite a multitude of complaints to the PCC, the Daily Mail managed to avoid being penalised for publishing the column as it, in the words of chairwoman Baroness Buscombe, “just failed to cross the line”.
Despite a multitude of complaints to the PCC, the Daily Mail managed to avoid being penalised for publishing the column as it, in the words of chairwoman Baroness Buscombe, “just failed to cross the line”.
2015 - The Lead-Up To Caitlyn Jenner's Coming Out

InTouch
Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair magazine cover was immediately iconic, with media outlets rushing to shower her with praise for her courage, dignity and poise in speaking out on an issue that affects people all over the world.
However, with near-unanimous positivity aimed at Caitlyn, it’s easy to forget that months earlier, the coverage hadn’t quite been as supportive. In the months that led up to Caitlyn’s coming out interview, the US press had been hounding her daily, and running often-insensitive headlines speculating about when she’d be coming out, her family’s reaction and other baseless details about her private life.
However, with near-unanimous positivity aimed at Caitlyn, it’s easy to forget that months earlier, the coverage hadn’t quite been as supportive. In the months that led up to Caitlyn’s coming out interview, the US press had been hounding her daily, and running often-insensitive headlines speculating about when she’d be coming out, her family’s reaction and other baseless details about her private life.