Of all the forms of prejudice in our society, none affects a larger share of the population, or is as institutionalized, and therefore difficult to eradicate, as sexism.

Sexist attitudes directly affect more than half of our population. They begin at birth and continue throughout life. Many of society's sexist views are so commonplace, most accept them without question.

The first step toward the elimination of sexism is to realize it exists, and to find the different contexts in which it arises. It is impossible to attempt to solve a problem until one has a clear view of its existence and scope.

The Jan. 25 USA Today contained two typical examples of sexist attitudes. The first was in a letter to the editor:

"Males do better on the SAT's for precisely the same reason they do not get as good grades in college: they are far better in, and far more likely to take difficult courses in, mathematics than are females.

"Similarly, even if it were true that those females who do take mathematics and physics courses do as well as the males in these courses, this would not demonstrate a general female aptitude equal to the male aptitude." (The author of this letter was a male.)

Statistics show females score lower on the math portion of the SAT on average than males.

To suggest that the difference is due to the "male aptitude," however, has been proven false. Males and females are treated differently in grade school from an early age, so their opportunities are not equal.

A study by Leinhardt, Seewald and Enge (1979), for example, showed that second-grade teachers spend more time with boys in math and more time with girls in reading. Such differences in schooling are the cause of the difference in test scores, not any greater innate male ability.

In fact, on a deeper level there is little difference between excellence in mathematics and excellence in most other academic subjects.

A good paper in an English class, for example, poses a well-formulated, concise question, and progresses through a series of logical, cohesive statements to the question's resolution.

This is much the same process that a mathematician uses to postulate a theorem and then logically deduce the validity of the theorem. To suggest that women are inferior somehow in mathematics, while equal to men in other academic subjects, is therefore ludicrous.

A second USA Today article on Jan. 25 was about Good Housekeeping and its efforts to attract the "new ideal homemaker." This mythical creature is one who "has it all, but not all at once. She has the best of careers, followed by the best of home lives, followed by a perfect blend of both."

The "superwoman" myth is a creation of the 80's. The number of women in the work force has increased dramatically in the last 20 years, and this certainly is a positive step toward eliminating sexism.

However, many women now are expected to have an outside job and earn money, but they still must do all of the traditional jobs of keeping house and raising children. This is an unreasonable burden for anyone.

If we do not change our expectations of the roles of husband and wife at home, no real progress has been made toward equality of the sexes.

The article went on to state, "A lot of women would prefer to stay home with their children, or work part-time." Certainly nothing is wrong with a woman who decides not to work outside the home but chooses, instead, to concentrate on raising her children and keeping a house.

In fact, if our society paid in proportion to one's contribution to society, a homemaker would have one of the highest-paying professions. The tragedy is not that some women choose the role of homemaker, but that far too many women think they have no choice but to assume the role of homemaker.

Homemakers are almost exclusively females in our society. Few men believe they should sacrifice their jobs or career aspirations in order to raise a family. As the article stated, "Probably a lot of men would like to work part time. Nobody ever asks them."

In addition to the print media, television advertisements far too often place women and men in traditional roles. Inevitably, the woman cooks, washes dishes and clothes and caters to the sick child.

The man in the laundromat usually is a bumbling fool who needs to have the buxom female show him how much detergent to add. When "Doctor Mom" gets sick, the house instantly falls apart.

Television ads also reflect sexist attitudes in other facets of society. One example was the recent series of ads for "Bridal Fair."

The attitudes toward weddings are among the most sexist in our society. The wedding is thought to be the most important day of a female's life, but rarely is it referred to as the most important day of a male's life. Why are there no such ads for "Groom Fair," or even better, "Bride and Groom Fair?"

Typical pre-wedding preparations show blatant sexism. The bride usually will have one or more bridal showers, at which housewares often are exchanged in order to prepare the bride for housekeeping.

The groom usually has a single bachelor party, at which alcohol is consumed and sexually stimulating movies are viewed in order to ready the man for sex.

Equal treatment of the sexes benefits both women and men and should be one of our top priorities. We must become aware of all the ways that sexist attitudes manifest themselves.

The only differences between a male and a female are the obvious physical differences. In an advanced and enlightened society, there is absolutely no reason why we should treat women as intellectually inferior to men, or that we should relegate them to secondary status, either in the work place or at home.