What can individuals do to influence the culture in which we live?

I recommend simply being an individual. Stand out from the crowd and lead by example. Unless there are legal issues involved, cultural biases can be made moot by being ignored.

Once one person stops following the status quo then others follow them, and thats how culture is created anew.

For example: see the emo movement, goth movement, punk movement,

and ESPECIALLY the 60's counter culture wherein the youth all rebelled into the hippy culture in reaction to their parent's strict one.

I reccomend using google scholar or wikipedia for more info on each movement.