WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant)

White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP). A sociological term used to describe white Protestant Americans of Northwestern European descent, who are generally part of the white dominant culture or upper-class and historically often the Mainline Protestant elite^. Historically or most consistently, WASPs are of British descent.

WASPs have dominated American society, culture, and politics for most of the history of the United States. Critics have disparaged them as “The Establishment.” Although the social influence of wealthy WASPs has declined since the 1960s, the group continues to play a central role in American finance, politics, and philanthropy.