1 Faces of power

Figure 2 A useful way to think about power is through the metaphor of ‘faces’

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The image features a number of carnival masks haphazardly scattered.

Figure 2 A useful way to think about power is through the metaphor of ‘faces’

The metaphor of a ‘face’ of power is a potent way of understanding power in relation to race. Colour is visible on the faces of all people and as such all people are visibly marked in different ways. The colour of someone’s face is highly visible and therefore an outward sign that seems to licence racism and privilege. Steven Lukes (2005), although he did not directly write about race, developed a theory of three faces of power that can provide a basic navigation system for understanding how some of these power dynamics work.