I. What Is Culture?, continued

Intracultural Variation

Cultures generally always contain subcultures. These subcultures revolve around such things as gender, age, class, race, religion, occupation, or sexual orientation and identity. Additionally, some subcultures are formed on the basis of a specific disability, such as deafness. The point here is to understand that a subculture shares much of the overarching culture of the larger group within which it occurs, but also has characteristics that are unique and identifiable both to itself and the larger culture. These subcultures are an important source of variation within a culture.

For example, women in a culture are often guided by beliefs and rules for behavior that apply only to the women in that culture. These might include dress, occupations, and maternal, caregiver, and healer roles.

Such subcultures often include a sizeable number of people, so we often hear references to “the culture of medicine,” “institutional culture,” “organizational culture,” “youth culture” or “gay culture.” The culture of medicine (see next page), for example, is made up of individuals from the larger culture who share specific understandings about science, biomedicine, policies, and ethics related to provider/patient relationships and how health and mental health care services are appropriately delivered.

A specific organization, such a as a hospital, college, or health management organization, may also have its own practices, norms, and understandings that the people within it have uniquely developed over time.

These create an organizational culture that is often apparent to people both within and outside the organization. Not surprisingly, persons from outside an occupational or organizational culture, when forced to interact with it, may find its policies and procedures puzzling or problematic.