What makes Margaret Mead so important in Anthropology circles Essay

What makes Margaret Mead so important in Anthropology circles - Essay ExampleIn the docu handstary videos about her disembodied spirit and work perused for this essay, one could witness the key develop workforcets in anthropological study that she initiated. One could see in the videos, that Mead contributed immensely to not just the study of cultural anthropology retrospectively, but she played a role in creating new trends and fashions in her own era. In this view, Mead was a key figure who ushered the cultural upheavals in the American society of the 1960s. The Hippies culture of this period was inspired by thoughts of such intellectuals as Mead, who were able to pay anthropology from a feminist perspective. In her early field work in remote islands in the southern Pacific and Southeast Asia, Mead had documented the significance of face-to-face interactions, especially the crucial role that adults play in the lives of children, simply by virtue of their presence. Meads work on gender roles and behaviour in a society has withstood the scrutiny of time. For example, in the case of development of boys, by having regular contact with various kinds of men (some abrasive, some gentle, some caring, some others playful, some serious, some sporty, some cerebral, etc) boys get a well-rounded and empowering capriciousness of what is possible in their own lives when they grow up. This is in contrast with the Boy Scouts of Americas rather narrow definition of proper maleness, which causes more harm than help boys realize their full potential. For example, misogyny and homophobia are characteristic of mid-century definitions of masculinity in part because those definitions are oppositional a man is manly because he is not womanly, or feminine, or subject to the male gaze. Opening masculinity up to different modes of behavior, including traditionally feminine ones, helps to define men in the context of what they are, not what they are not. Moving away from abstractions , and allowing boys the flexibility that we currently as a society claim to want for our girls, can only be for the good. (Lanclos, 2010, p.341) Meads studies showed the impact of culture upon nature, at a time when the pre-eminence of nature was still holding forte. She followed the precedence set by Franz Boas (who had earlier conducted fieldwork in South Pacific) and pointed to the fact that attitudes and behavior related to sexual conduct differed greatly between the studied chemical group and that of middle class Americans. This was a radical new idea at that time, as adolescence was seen as universally turbulent and conflicted. Meads insights into the role of nurture in sexual conduct revolutionized Western notions of culture and social relations. For example, the culture of these people from distant lands created a more permissive, guilt-free attitude towards sexual intercourse in jejune years, without any commitment to permanent relationships. (Cravens, 2010, p.299) In ge neral, sex was seen as a recreation and indulged in for fun. American readers of these studies were taken aback at first. But they soon warmed up to the allure of exotic unripened maidens were having delightful sexual romps on exotic isles with a changing cast of young male companions was approximately irresistible to many literate Americans. Mead thus reached great fame and popularity in the United States. (Cravens, 2010, p.299) Margaret Meads path-breaking book culmination of Age in Samoa offered such a fresh perspective that in the foreword to the book, her mentor Franz Boas summarizes the issue thesis thus Courtesy, modesty, good manners, conformity to definite ethical standards are universal, but what constitutes these is not universal. It is educational to know that standards differ in the