Margaret Mead was an American anthropologist who studied isolated cultures in order to learn which cultural norms were healthier and helpful to societies. Mead travelled to Samoa and other  islands in the south Pacific to live among native people. During her stay she documented their way of life and interacted directly with them. Through her experiences she learned that an individual’s personality was determined more by the culture that they were raised in than once thought. Mead concluded that none of our traits were actually caused by ‘human nature’ but are actually one of many possibilities depending on what a particular society taught, encouraged or shunned. Men are not inherently aggressive, nor are women born to be nurturing.

We must recognise, that beneath the superficial classifications of sex and race the same potentialities exist, recurring generation after generation, only to perish because society has no place for them.

Sources:

“The Great Anthropologists: Margaret Mead.” Philosophers Mail. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.

“The Institute for Intercultural Studies: Biography: Margaret Mead.” The Institute for Intercultural Studies: Biography: Margaret Mead. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.