What is the main factor in defining a minority?

What is the main factor in defining a minority?

• A. Oppression
• B. Prejudice
• C. Stereotyping
• D. Discrimination

Answer: (A)

Power and subordination shape who counts as a minority. A minority group is defined not just by numbers or by negative attitudes, but by being subjected to systemic disadvantage and reduced access to resources and decision-making power relative to the dominant group. Oppression captures that ongoing pattern of control and denial of rights that keeps the group in a subordinate position. Attitudes like prejudice and beliefs like stereotyping are about how people think, and discrimination is about unequal treatment, but oppression describes the structural, enduring force that sustains minority status. So, oppression best explains why a group is considered a minority in social terms.

Power and subordination shape who counts as a minority. A minority group is defined not just by numbers or by negative attitudes, but by being subjected to systemic disadvantage and reduced access to resources and decision-making power relative to the dominant group. Oppression captures that ongoing pattern of control and denial of rights that keeps the group in a subordinate position. Attitudes like prejudice and beliefs like stereotyping are about how people think, and discrimination is about unequal treatment, but oppression describes the structural, enduring force that sustains minority status. So, oppression best explains why a group is considered a minority in social terms.