What is Power?

Power has been used starting from when humans first began recognizing their ability to influence others, and since has been wielded at every turn of human history. It has been essential in every major historical event and has been adapted by those who wield it to suit their desires. It can be used obviously or subtly, en masse or one on one, overpoweringly or with a whisper light touch. But what actually is it? The Oxford Language dictionary defines power as the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. This is a pretty solid starting point, but it doesn’t capture the full extent of the concept. As one learns when studying politics or international relations, power comes in many forms and its use does not necessarily imply obtaining the outcome one desires.

Regardless of how it is used, power can be found in a multitude of our interactions. During my studies, I learned about what is called hard and soft power in international Relations. Hard power is what we might typically think of when we consider what power is; having the means to directly influence things in your favor, particularly through coercion. In the context of politics this is often through military involvement or economic sanctions, essentially forcing the hand of the other party. As for interpersonal relations, this might come in the form of threats or intimidation on a more personal basis, i.e. harming one’s person or family. The key here is there are direct, negative consequences being imposed by the party exercising their power, with the weaker party engaging somewhat involuntarily. Soft power, on the other hand, is a more subtle approach. It aims at changing one’s attitude and results in one voluntarily acting differently than normal. In international relations, using soft power could include things from economic incentives to cultural influence. On a more interpersonal level, soft power might include things such as rewarding behaviors or incentivizing certain actions. To simply: think of the donkey theory. To move a donkey, you can threaten him with a stick (hard power) or you can dangle a rewarding carrot in front of him (soft power). This is not the perfect comparison as the many ways of applying power cannot all be captured in this example, but it gets the basics across.

In the case of international relations, it is fairly easy to pinpoint the sources of power different countries wield. The United States derives a great deal of its (hard) power from its economic influence and military. It also has a decent amount of cultural soft power, if only due to the massive amounts of capital invested in the entertainment industry. China and India have a great deal of power deriving from their economies and the size of their workforce. States like Japan and Korea get most of their power from their cultural exports, namely anime, K/J-pop, TV shows, movies, and other media. Others, like Italy and France, might have theirs also from cultural exports, but through food, wine, or art. There are also other types of soft power, such as Fiji’s expertise in the environment which lends it a major voice in discussions about climate change.

However, when we turn to power sources among individuals, this process of identifying it can become much more nuanced. Certainly money is a source of power. One could buy nearly anything with enough money, and there is always someone willing to do anything for the right price. Professional standing or one’s reputation can be a source of power, especially when it comes to directing or influencing others. Some people rely purely on their physical power, using it to intimidate others into giving them what they want. There are other phrases we use such as sexual power, womanly power, spiritual power; people find power in their looks, intelligence, or skills. You could even say that some people have the power of confidence. We have so many more ways to define sources of power between people, and many more actions that can be considered an application of power. Due to this, it can be easy to forget that power dynamics are at play in many of our everyday interactions, not just those that are obvious through big showy power moves of intimidation, threat, or harm.

It can be easy to think of power as a negative thing. Many people use either obvious or subtle power plays against others, with the aim of pursuing their own interests. However, we must recognize that power has two sides to it. Yes, there is the darker side, which inspires sayings such as ‘don’t let power go to your head’ and ‘power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely’. However, like yin and yang, there is also the good side of power. People who employ power for good can inspire the masses, stand up for others, or use their influence and guidance to make a difference in the world. It just matters how we use the power we have, and whether those around us can recognize applications of power when they occur.

Violently assaulting someone is an obvious show of physical power, but other situations, such as purposefully giving someone something they’re allergic to, or denying someone medication because you don’t believe they need it, are other ways of exerting physical power over someone, albeit covertly. Tearing someone down emotionally, destroying a person’s confidence, belittling them, or even withholding something that provides comfort, are all also ways to exert power over someone else, just not physically. At work, leaders and managers can use their positions to deny subordinates days off, bathroom breaks, raises. They might even use their position to create an uncomfortable working environment to elicit a resignation.

There are many other instances in which we might not recognize the role power plays. Catcalling, for example, may be considered by many to be just a nuisance, but it is also a way of exercising one’s power over another. The caller is using power to take over a moment in another person’s life, forcing an interaction that the victim otherwise would not participate in. In fact, many if not all unwanted sexual interactions are about power more than anything else. The assailant wants to feel powerful over the other person, exert their will, and get what they want without regard for anyone else. This applies both to physical assaults and verbal or emotional ones.

As much as I’ve talked about it, power is not just about being able to bring about the situations you want. Power can also be more latent. In Liv’s article, About Penetration, she discussed how penetration relates to power. She posited that being penetrated means willfully giving up some of your power, as you allow someone else to assume a position of domination over you. The penetrator does not necessarily have to exercise their power and dominate the other, but they are in the position to do so specifically because of the penetratee’s submission. There are also situations where the penetratee can be poised in the position of power during sex (for the sake of argument, let’s call this on top), but still be submissive, allowing the other party to control the situation. So, non-use by the penetrator or temporarily giving power to the penetratee does not mean that the power imbalance is not there. It is, if only due to deference.

No matter the relationship between two parties, there is always a power imbalance. Responsibilities can be the same, but there is always one more dependent on the other, a party more willing to give in to the other, one who, no matter how equal the relationship, will end up with the final say when push comes to shove. There is always some kind of deference to one party over another. There’s nothing wrong with this, it’s how the world works. It’s also what we have become accustomed to, what we expect. However, we have, perhaps, become too docile in accepting power imbalances.

Many of the problems we are facing today are due to power imbalances. Between economic classes, ethnicities, genders, and more. The groups in power are steeped in bigotry and/or desire to maintain the status quo, while power imbalances are also built into the systems we live in. For African Americans, slavery officially ended more than 150 years ago, but the judicial system is built and exploited in such a way to enslave these same people under the guise of criminal justice, while at the same time making it nearly impossible to avoid the loop of enslavement through prison, struggling to live a normal life with a criminal record, and returning to crime just to survive. Women were considered second class citizens for centuries and there are still innumerable instances of women being disrespected, overlooked, and physically attacked simply for being women. This doesn’t even touch on the heightened danger members of the LGBTQ+ community face, due to personal factors that do not affect anyone else. We saw during and in the aftermath of COVID how little the lives of the lower class are valued, despite their ‘essential’ role in keeping society functioning.

These power imbalances come out in many ways, which lead to fewer work or study opportunities, less governmental representation, heightened danger in simply existing, and overall a deteriorated quality of life compared to those who are richer, whiter, manlier, or even just born into more fortunate circumstances. It’s not only about individuals, either. Entire communities are left feeling powerless because of the overt and covert power plays the smaller ruling class employ. This imbalance is what we want to address here. Through bold articles such as About Penetration, we aim to bring these power imbalances into focus, so that our readers are not only more aware of how power comes into play in their everyday lives, but can also recognize when it is a problem to be resolved and how they can be part of the solution.

Furthermore, we aim to eventually contribute to the larger societal narrative, to help powerless communities be better recognized for their struggles, achievements, knowledge, and overall past and future contributions to society. With our longer publications, we might address possible policy recommendations or go much further into depth about certain issues, but these different sources and applications of power are the things we want to highlight in our shorter posts. Though some articles might be more straightforward than others, do not be fooled. Everything we write about here relates back to power or lack thereof, because everything we do, participate in, the opportunities and obstacles we find through the courses of our lives, can be examined under this power lens. It’s simply a matter of using it to better understand the faults in our society, and the core problems that need to be addressed for us to truly experience progress for all.