Margaret Mead (1901-1978) was an Americancultural anthropologist whose ideas andinfluence extended well beyond her academicfield of anthropology. Her public influencewas most pronounced during the 1960s and1970s, when her interest in sexuality andgender coincided with the sexual and socialrevolution of the time. Margaret Mead’smost distinctive contribution was in theoften controversial comparisons she drew between the culturalpractices, particularly sexual mores and gender traits, of SouthPacific and Asian communities and Western cultures. Mead, withher third husband Gregory Bateson, was also an early innovatorin the utilization of visual representation as a scientific tool toinform their anthropological analysis.

Professor Sharon Bell is a Fellow of the LH Martin Institute, TheUniversity of Melbourne. Throughout her career, she has meldedcreative and academic interests particularly filmmaking andresearch in the fields of Anthropology and Ethnographic Film.