Culture: The Spice of Life and Place - Geography - page 208

Doing what the big boys do
In hierarchical diffusion, a culture trait is born in a large city, becomes adopted by a portion of the
populace, spreads to other large cities, and then “trickles down” to medium-sized cities, small cities,
towns,andvillages inthatorder(Figure13-2c).Derogatoryreference tothisprocessisfoundinterms
such as “country bumpkin” and “hicks from the sticks,” which typically are applied to rural or small
town residents who are allegedly “behind the times” with respect to cultural trends.
Nowadays, cultural “fads” in particular tend to diffuse hierarchically. This is especially true of new
clothing styles, body modifications (hair styling, tattoos, piercing, and the lot), and slang. Inhabitants
of large cities generally are more dissimilar and accepting of personal differences than their counter-
parts in small settlements where, perhaps stereotypically, everybody knows everybody else's business
and pressure to conform is comparatively high. “Being different” by adopting a new fad that may
seem outlandish to some is easier in big cities. If the fad is successful and catches on, then its visib-
ility and acceptability are likely to increase, which in turn increases the likelihood that it will trickle
down the hierarchy.
Calling a Halt: Barrier Effects
Barrier effects are things that stop or inhibit cultural diffusion. When culture traits spread,
they typically do not “keep going and going and going” like that battery-powered bunny of
TV commercial fame. Instead, traits tend to diffuse outward from their areas of origin, achieve