Since he was 2 years old, Warren Blumenfeld’s parents feared he was gay. He was a shy boy who preferred to play with dolls rather than toy trucks and guns.

This fear put Blumenfeld, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, in a child psychologist’s office twice a week for eight years to make sure he would be straight.

This, he said, is when he began gathering material for his book, “Homophobia: How We All Pay the Price,” and the presentation of the same name that he gave Tuesday night in Pearson Hall, for which he used personal examples to underscore the threat homophobia poses to all members of society.

Blumenfeld, who plans to teach a Queer Studies course next semester, said homophobia has its roots in sexism because we are all taught to hate and fear differences that include stepping out of gender roles.

He said, however, this fear affects everyone, including heterosexuals.

Blumenfeld said homophobia prevents people, especially males, from forming close relationships with members of the same sex or from expressing emotion, which can limit heterosexual relationships. He also said he believes there would be a cure for AIDS by now if those first affected by the disease in the West had not been homosexual.

Marty Martinez, staff psychologist at Student Counseling Service, said homophobia is an “irrational fear of homosexuals that can lead to hate and discrimination.”

“The key is irrational,” Martinez said. “Most people have fear about what they know little about.”

John Faughn, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Student Services coordinator, said acts of hate resulting from homophobia could be physical acts, graffiti and name calling, all of which, he said, occur at Iowa State.

He said even the phrase “that’s so gay” is homophobic because it equates homosexuality with being stupid or bad.

Blumenfeld said the more he studies homophobia, the less he understands it. “I love another man. So what?” he said.

Brian Adams, senior in animal science who attended the lecture, said Blumenfeld “had a good point when he said [homophobia] was wasted energy.”

Blumenfeld said he is accused of “shoving his homosexuality down people’s throats” if he even mentions a boyfriend or an anniversary, which is something a heterosexual would do in common conversation.

Martinez said heterosexuals can overcome homophobia through respect, empathy and interaction, and a big part of overcoming homophobia is “being able to empathize that someone has the same feelings, issues and concerns that you do.”

Blumenfeld has given the presentation on college campuses and high schools throughout the country and Europe, but this was the first time he has given it here.