Overculture

Overculture is a term used in rolequeer theory to denote a culture from which beliefs are received. This is usually, but not always, the hegemonic mainstream culture. It is the opposite of “underculture,” which refers to a counterculture that resisting the overculture. One example of an overculture relevant to rolequeer theory is the BDSM Scene, a globalized culture that holds authority fetishism and non-consent as its defining elements. The BDSM Scene is an overculture and not a hegemonic mainstream because the specific accoutrements and cultural signifiers and beliefs of the BDSM Scene, such as the belief that eroticizing torture is unproblematic if it happens "only in the bedroom," are not generally accepted by civil society. Rolequeer culture is an underculture of BDSM culture because it positions itself in direct and vocal opposition to the BDSM Scene’s cultural values and ideals.