Original sentence: From the birth of socialism in the 19th century to the mid 20th century, opinions were divided among the socialist movement as to whether homosexuals were a symptom of bourgeois decadence or an oppressed minority whose struggle for liberation must be supported by socialists.Rather, different socialists held different views at different times.Some socialists have declined to take any position at all on issues of sexual orientation, believing them to be a side issue of minor importance.The degree of variation can be extreme: Among socialist ranks one may find strong homophobes, outspoken supporters of the gay liberation movement, and everything in between.The latter opinion began to gain considerable ground in the 1960s, and today the overwhelming majority of socialists support gay rights.There has never been a single, universally accepted stance towards sexual orientation within the socialist movement.There have been a number of very significant contributions to socialism by lesbians, gays and bisexuals — in particular, the libertarian socialists of the late 19th and early 20th century John Henry Mackay, Mikhail Bakunin and Emma Goldman, and the Marxist Edward Carpenter
Edited sentence: A number of socialists have advocated sexual freedoms since the 19th century.In the past, socialists have taken a variety of positions, including some very conservative ones.Many self-declared socialist governments have introduced repressive legislation upon coming to power, extending in some cases to the persecution of homosexual and effeminate males by castration, imprisonment, labor camps, and execution.Other socialists have declined to take a position on such issues.Socialist politics in the western world has, in recent times, come to be associated with a liberal view regarding sexual minorities and gender diversity.There has been a widespread view within the socialist tradition that homosexuality should be opposed as bourgeois decadence; less homophobic positions have either ignored the oppression of lesbians and gays, or seen gay rights as a "side issue" that distracts from the class struggle.There have been a number of important contributions to socialism by lesbians, gays and bisexuals — in particular, the libertarian socialists (anarchists) of the late 19th and early 20th century John Henry Mackay, Mikhail Bakunin and Emma Goldman, and the Marxist Edward Carpenter.This view began to change in earnest with the liberation struggles of the 1960s