Anti-gay forces created the closet in response to the openness and assertiveness of gay men and lesbians in the early 20th century. Beginning in the 1890's, an extensive gay world took shape in … In the late 19th century, psychiatrists and doctors began to … The Sexual Orientation of Men in the 1890s Victorian sexuality can be approached from so many directions, including (but not limited to) body image , sexual orientation, masturbation , prostitution , sex education , disease , religion , marriage , and pornography . 1890s timeline of major events in LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) rights history, including homosexuality, gay marriage, gay adoption, serving in the military, sexual orientation discrimination protection, changing legal gender, donating blood, age of consent, and more. Throughout, however, the public discussion of sexual matters was characterised by absence of plain speaking, with consequent ignorance, embarrassment and fear. Certainly, the 1860s were briefly as 'permissive' as the same decade in the 20th century, while the 1890s saw an explosion of differing and conflicting positions. Homosexuality, especially same-sex relationships between men, was considered deviant, sinful and even criminal for centuries.