Lesbianism was OK over a century ago. Then it was not. October 15, 2018 compassq 5 THINGS TO KNOW, HEROES, LIFESTYLES Comments Off on Lesbianism was OK over a century ago. Then it was not. Susan B. Anthony (Wikipedia) Examples of lesbian sexuality are all over early American history. The 19th century saw a myriad of reasons why lesbianism was actually embraced, right up until the turn of the 20th century, when it wasn’t.