What is Dominant Culture?
Dominant culture refers to the collective norms, values, and practices upheld by the prevailing social group, influencing societal standards and expectations.
The Basic Idea
Take a minute to consider the social fabric of your environment. How would you describe it? Perhaps you would focus on the people you encounter and consider diversity – different ethnicities, religious beliefs, or political affiliations. What if you were asked to describe the “average” person? Your answer may vary depending on your experiences and how you define “average”.
Specifically, your answer is likely to reflect the dominant culture, which is the group that holds more power relative to other groups in society. Dominance can come in the form of religion, language, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or a combination of such factors. The dominant culture will have a strong presence in institutions such as education, governance, business, law, and communication. Importantly, the dominant culture can change in response to the social landscape, and can sometimes result in the oppression of minority cultures.
In the animal kingdom, the rule is, eat or be eaten; in the human kingdom, define or be defined.
– Thomas Szasz, author of The Second Sin
