Why can't boys play with dolls?

          "Be a man." Everyone in the world has probably heard this phrase at least once in their life. They might have been in the general vicinity while someone was getting scolded by their "bros." or their father. The phrase might have been directed straight at them. They might even have been the person telling someone to be a man at some point. It isn't always even those three words. There are countless different ways that people tell men that they aren't being man enough to meet their standards. It isn't just men either; there are plenty of phrases to keep women down as well. For example, "That isn't very lady like." In society today, everyone claims that the line between the genders isn't half as thick as it once was, that we've made such considerable strides in that area. However, phrases like these and the conversations that surround them still do extensive amounts of work in trying to make sure that no one ever steps outside of the gender roles that society has designated. This is part of an enormous issue called Gender Stratification that is preventing American society and other civilizations worldwide from growing.
         It isn't like there has been no progress at all in eliminating gender inequality from the world. Even so, it is still a very prominent issue, an issue that needs to be addressed. Sure, now women can fight for America on the front lines if that is their wish. However, still today, the average working woman only earns 77 percent of what the average working man does. In some countries, women aren't allowed to drive and they can't even leave their homes unless they have a man to chaperone them while they're out. Women do seem to be getting help though. The feminist movement is gaining speed quickly worldwide, but what are feminists going to do for the negative inequalities that affect men. Women have been able to wear whatever kind of clothing they favored for decades, but if a boy goes to school in a skirt tomorrow, he will most likely be shunned by many of his fellow students and bullied back into dressing like a boy. When a man and his wife get divorced nowadays the chances that the man will get custody of his children are miniscule if you can even call them existent. Sexual harassment claims from men in the workplace are hardly even considered because in the society that exists today people believe men to be sex crazed pigs and any sexual contact they experience with a female, they must have wanted. Gender inequality affects everyone in some way, and it's not good.
           The negative and positive effects of gender inequality have pitted men and women against each other in the current time. The genders must compete for everything from a seat on the bus to a corporate position, and it makes people see the opposite gender to them in a negative light. As long as men and women are battling for superiority instead of working together in everyday life, it will hinder the growth of worldwide society. The people of the world have to stop perpetuating gender stereotypes and then teaching their children to do the same. No one in the world should be taught to think, "I can't do this because of my gender."
I also had a picture of a man wearing a skirt, however, it will not copy and paste so I will just put the link below.
Links:
Pictures - https://www.flickr.com/photos/sabrebiade/8401160831
https://www.flickr.com/photos/9817122@N05/3702317298/

Articles - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/soraya-chemaly/children-gender-identity_b_998285.html
http://goodmenproject.com/gender-sexuality/national-boy-be-a-girl-day/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/06/18/women-expected-on-front-lines-by-2016/2434911/
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/30/opinion/armour-women-in-combat/
http://listverse.com/2008/11/20/10-extreme-examples-of-gender-inequality/
http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/examples-gender-inequality-around-world.htm