Why did homosexuality become so normalized, and will there be a huge backlash soon?
Our modern acceptance of gay people is a direct consequence of the persecution that we faced leading up to that acceptance taking root. It doesn't get much worse than trying to facilitate the eradication of gay people via a natural disease as happened with the AIDS epidemic in the 80s (really, the only reason I don't think it's appropriate to try to classify that as an attempted genocide is the face that it was a disease combined with malign neglect that was causing the harm rather than a direct systemic attempt to eliminate gay people as a minority group) - though Republicans and other extreme right organizations are certainly having a solid go of pushing an actual genocide against transgender people and non-white people that can be mistaken for immigrants right now.
And that's the bit that you're missing. Acceptance is builf on the back of persecution and malign actions being taken, because these actions necessarily shine a light on the struggles that we face. The acceptance IS the backlash - the persecution doesn't spring from a counter to growing acceptance, instead from the identification of a vulnerable minority that immoral people seeking personal power and influence can safely target without immediate fear of ostracization for going after.
First they ignore us, then they mock us, then they fight us, then we win. Conservatives fought against gay people several decades ago, and surviving that assault brought widespread acceptance of us. Transgender people are facing this same attack now, and if we can weather the current storm, we will see a similar backlash against the people and ideas that are persecuting us now.
