A FEW years ago I was talking about my practice when I mentioned 'my partner, John'.

My teenage son interrupted: "Shut up Dad. Everyone will think you are gay."

Adolescents still see 'gay' as an insult but, hopefully, attitudes will change.

Persecution of gay people has a long history. The Church has objected since the Middle Ages, quoting Biblical references.

Henry VIII passed the first law banning 'sodomy' in 1533. It was re-enacted in 1536 and was still used to convict gay people until 1885.

It would be unlikely to have reached the statue book in the reigns of William Rufus, Edward II and James I, all of whom were gay.

But the change of law at the end of the 19th century did not signify a more liberal attitude. Many people were pleased when Oscar Wilde was sent to prison.

The idea developed that homosexuality was an illness and needed treating. Although sexual activity between consenting men was legalised in 1967 it was still considered an illness and attempts to 'treat' it continued throughout the 1970s.

Men were given 'shock' treatment, being shown provocative photos of men and women and being given an electric shock when the male picture appeared.

Some were given a drug to associate sexual feelings for men with nausea. Others were given the female hormone oestrogen to reduce their sexual drive.

Amazingly, homosexuality was not declassified as an 'illness' until 1992.

In 1952, Alan Turung, one of the founders of the computer industry and the brains behind decoding the enigma machine during the Second World War, was arrested for 'gross indecency' after a homosexual affair.

He was forced to have drug 'treatment' and committed suicide two years later.

In the week of Holocaust Memorial Day we must remember that thousands of homosexuals were also murdered in the Nazi death camps.

Even in 1983 the majority of people in the UK – 63 per cent — thought homosexual activity was 'mostly' or 'always' wrong.

Now we have moved on. The latest Government survey showed only 36 per cent hold this view.

In some ways homosexuality has parallels being left-handed. When I was born no one could have predicted I would be left-handed but, as I started to write, the left hand seemed to be the logical one to use.

In the past left-handedness was seen as 'wrong' with words like 'sinister' meaning left and frightening.

Children were forced to use their right hand.

Being gay is not a choice. As gay people reach puberty they find that they are attracted to the same sex. This is no more a 'crime', a 'perversion' or an 'illness' than being left handed.

Gay people are no more likely to be paedophiles or rapists than anyone else. They are not a danger to children.

For once the media has led the way. Soap opera and mainstream dramas such as Torchwood all treat gay men and women as a variation of normal.

Most of the public accept Elton John's civil partnership. It does not affect his music.

We have moved on from the days when Oscar Wilde was sentenced to hard labour in Reading Gaol and Alan Turing was 'treated'.

Public attitudes have also changed. Now no one cares whether I am right or left handed as long as I can do my job. Maybe one day society will be mature enough not to care about people's sexual preferences.