Paternal Responsibility Lost in Society

This article about Prince William taking two weeks paternity leave inspired this post. The link can be found here: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/prince-william-weeks-paternity-leave-19709303

Now, normally I try to avoid reading from domestic news outlets, because I feel as though they're not as trustworthy, but I did decide to read this article from ABC News and the Associated Press.

My Freshman year of college, I took a Sociology class about Gender and Society. This class is where I have derived many opinions I have regarding gender roles.


Here we go...
First off, let me state that I am very happy to read that Prince William is taking having a child to heart and is utilizing the leave from the Royal Air Force, that he is entitled to as a new father. What gets my goat is not directly related to the article in question, but I take a step back and ask: Why am I surprised that a father is taking the responsibility of having a child seriously?
In America, we hear a lot about dead-beat-dads, men who don't support the mother and children, so on and so forth. And while this happens, not all men deserve the bad rap. That's right men, I'm siding with you on this one!
The root of the matter is not taking responsibility of life decisions, but on how boys and girls are raised into adults; becoming the future population. We can see, from the moment a child's sex is determined, that boys and girls are treated and raised inherently different. We want equality today, yet we do not raise children as equals, as much as we try. I think we can all agree that attempting to bring up children in a gender-neutral environment can prove to be quite difficult (and filled with a lot of yellow and green!) In our world focusing so much on appearance, focusing on "white-male privilege" (yeah, I said it), and where men are still paid more than women, both genders aren't looking too appealing.
The "Feminine" box is growing larger to extend to "tomboy": matters of working on cars, having short hair, and not being obsessed with Barbie, while the "Masculine" box is becoming smaller making "feminine" and "gay" becoming more controversial. Did I mention that the ideas of what is "masculine" and what is "feminine" are all socially constructed?
Yes, I said it. All of the stereotypes, all of what society thinks is "appropriate," is all made up. In layman's terms: one person thought they had a good idea and convinced their easily-persuaded friends that it was a good idea too. That, my friends, is how we got here, to our society as we know it.

Now, as time has gone on, women have taken on the nurturing role, while men are still seen as the breadwinners (to at least a certain degree). In American society, if a single father is taking care of his child, he is seen as being a good dad. But if a married man is the more nurturing type, he is immediately emasculated and is belittled. "A recent study by the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto found that men who take on caregiving duties at home receive more abuse at work than men who stick to conventional gender roles," (Lawless, 2). There you have it ladies and gents. Obviously there is more to it than just what is here in black in white, but for time-sake, just trust me.
This double standard shouldn't take anyone by surprise. We come in contact with this on a daily basis: A man sleeps around? He's got game. A woman sleeps around? She's a slut. Okay, maybe that wasn't a great example, but you get the picture.

Why am I surprised that a man is taking responsibility for his child? Because society has taught me that men are not dependable, not involved, and emotionally distant as a whole. Boys are primarily taught (intentions aside) that anger is an OK emotion, and all others are "feminine." We learn about stereotypes. While stereotypes exist for some reason, they don't have to apply to everyone. We have the ability to see past stereotyping and societal standards (that are all made up, by the way) to see people as just people: individuals. But if society is the problem, to change society, we must first change ourselves.