Did Oscar Wilde Set Back Gay Rights?

The article debates whether the legal trial and conviction of Oscar Wilde and his defense of his sexual orientation advanced or undermined the GLBT rights movement. It considers the customs of industrialized countries such as Great Britain, France and the U.S. in the 19th century with respect to same sex relationships, and concludes that they were tacitly accepted as long as they were kept private. Wilde's public downfall forced the issue of homosexuality and forced public opinion to decide on its morality. The author argues that Wilde's view that homosexuality was an unavoidable and tragic fate contributed to the image of it as predatory and tortured that prevailed in literature, journalism and movies for much of the 20th century.