Robertson/Play, Pain and Religion, 6. Subcultural Identity

Chapter 6 considers what constitutes a subculture and the utility of this concept in relation to the BDSM community. Kink, and all of the different strands which feed into a sense of it as gestalt, takes place within the wider context of society. That contemporary society is hypermodern, continuing the trends of modernity to what might once have been considered extremes. This chapter explores kink in this context, in relation to issues of subculture, identity, style and authenticity.