Question

Margaret mead's fieldwork in three societies in new guinea revealed that:

Answer 1

Mead's fieldwork revealed that gender roles and behaviors are culturally constructed, with vast variation among the Arapesh, Mundugumor, and Tchambuli societies in New Guinea.

Step-by-step explanation:

Margaret Mead's fieldwork in three societies in New Guinea highlighted that gender roles and behaviors can be culturally constructed rather than determined by biological differences. Mead's research among the Arapesh, Mundugumor, and Tchambuli (Chambri) societies revealed a wide spectrum of gender roles. In the Arapesh, both men and women were gentle and cooperative, whereas, in the Mundugumor, both genders were expected to be aggressive and competitive.

Conversely, among the Tchambuli, gender roles were reversed compared to Western expectations, with women being dominant and practical, and men being more emotionally dependent and engaging in beautification, often considered feminine by Western standards. This study broke new ground by identifying the fluid nature of gender roles and was a key contribution to our understanding of the cultural basis of gender differences. While some criticisms were levied against Mead's conclusions, further research by anthropologists has largely substantiated her observations.

Answer 2

Margaret Mead studied gender in three societies in New Guinea and established that "what is known to be feminine in one society might be considered masculine in another one".

Born on December 16, 1901, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Social anthropologist and author Margaret Mead is recognized with altering the approach we examine diverse human societies.