i think it has more to do with dignity.

Those two are the same thing. Dignity == not being at the absolute bottom end of a dominance hierarchy.

Since human society is very complex, there are many somewhat orthogonal dominance hierarchies. That revered old statesman in your esoteric music fandom might be a school janitor somewhere. Those local-star music scene musicians might get ushered into a billionaire's party through the back door of the kitchen, then be strictly warned not to touch any of the food.