Margaret Mead

You may only know her through her famous quote:  "A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." It's usually displayed at some work convention your attending, like the one I was recently at. 
However, Meade was indeed an extremely controversial figure. Her book, "Coming of Age in Samoa" dealt primarily with the transition of the Samoan adolescent into adulthood; the main topic of study: sex. 
Meade observed the sexual habits of the Samoan adolescent population and came to the realization that us Westerners were too uptight. The Samoan children had casual sex with whomever they pleased, commitment and jealousy not being an issue. 
Through living with the Samoans, Meade concluded that it was society's influence on its youth that determined how difficult the transition from adolescence to adulthood would be. 


I'm not sure where I was going with that, but I really think it's funny when a bunch of conservative do-goodies display her quote at a business/social function, thinking, "you're right Mrs. Meade, help us change the world."
She'd probably tell them to relax and get laid once and awhile.