Funa: Feminist Disobedience?

• In Event: Feminism, Resistance, Violence

Abstract

Funa a term derived from the Mapuche indigenous language, translates literally to 'rotten'. However, in social and political contexts, it has evolved into a phenomenon akin to public shaming. In Chile, the practice of funa serves as a unique means of social denunciation, with La Comision Funa emerging as a notable organized form of this action in the 2000s. La Comision Funa orchestrated direct actions to expose the identities of medical, political, and military figures implicated in the torture and disappearances during the Chilean dictatorship. Typically, these actions involved assembling and marching towards the individuals' residences or workplaces, vocally accusing them and spotlighting their evasion of justice within well-established institutional realms, both public and private.

Funa, therefore, transcended its origins, transforming into a widespread form of public denunciation not only against former members of the dictatorship but also against any other wrongdoer in society. Feminists, in particular, have embraced funa, or feminist funa, to disclose the names of those accused of gender violence in educational institutions, political parties, social organisations, and of course, unknown individuals, employing both street actions and online name-shaming, reminiscent of the MeToo movement. Nevertheless, feminist scholars have scrutinized and criticized this practice as punitive, highlighting the drawbacks of revictimization, extra juridical punishment, etc. Such criticisms often stem from a reliance on liberal notions of justice, which tend to oversimplify and depoliticize the concept and practice of funa.

This paper seeks to shift the theoretical discourse on funa, proposing to view it as a form of disobedience. First, the paper contends that funa challenges societal and political expectations of civility in political action, especially in contexts where women and feminists are pressured to engage in civil and mannered activism. Secondly, funa enables political mobilization that disrupts power on two fronts: fostering collaboration between victims and allies and unveiling the protective mechanisms safeguarding wrongdoers, often embedded within the same judicial system. Lastly, funa possesses communicative power, not only because social media amplifies public shaming, but also because it consolidates individual sentiments of fear, anger, and outrage into a collective political possibility. This paper posits that these facets of funa as a form of disobedience, rather than mere punishment, align with its primary purpose – dissent. Funa serves to open moments of confrontation and tension, that can allow us to think about feminist resistance.

Author

• Melany Cruz, University of Leicester