Objective:

To study the textual and visual representations produced by the Chilean newspaper Clarín (1954-1973), regarding men, women, and homosexuals classified as abnormal, defined and characterized on the basis of an alleged hereditary dangerousness, the primacy of instinct rather than reason in their behavior, and a sexuality perceived as perverse and contrary to social and moral order.

Methodology:

Based on a content analysis and a case study, which were part of the newspaper's police chronicle (crónica roja) during the period of study, we examine the fabrication and naturalization of stereotypes and prejudices through journalistic strategies such as reiteration, saturation, and orchestration of texts and images.

Originality:

The article addresses an underexplored context from the perspective of studies on behavioral and sexual differences and the role of the press in the fabrication of social labels, prejudices, and violence towards individuals and groups.

Conclusions:

The newspaper examined was not only a supplier of information but also a protagonist at the time due to its way of approaching the understanding and construction of reality, justifying moralistic and hegemonic values and practices, despite its popular, defiant, and anti-oligarchic profile. Its constructions of meaning preserve certain actuality, showing both the historicity and the contingency of the subject.