Although likely influenced by the ancient Greek play Lysistrata which follows as women swear off sex to protest the Peloponnesian War, the 4B movement began in South Korea in the late 2010s. In a country with one of the largest gender pay gaps and, at a time, when gender-based violence was making headlines, South Korean women adopted this radical feminist campaign as a protest to the treatment they were facing. The four Bs stand for bi-hon (no marriage), bi-yeonae (no dating), bi-chulsan (no birthing), and bi-sex (no sex). Now, in light of the recent election, the movement has made its way to the U.S.
Trends show a huge spike in the number of searches surrounding this topic, including the 500,000 search inquiries for “4B movement” that were made on Google over the span of 48 hours last week. It has become a top trending topic on many search engines. Along with the TikTok videos that have gained millions of views, one particular post on X encouraging women to “bite back” has over 21,000 shares and 21.3 million views. Now, with its popularity on social media, many young women are pledging to support the 4B movement. But why, now, is this movement gaining momentum in the states?
“Young women don’t want to be intimate with men who don’t fight for women’s rights; it’s showing they don’t respect us.” says Michaela Thomas when interviewed by the Washington Post. Women’s Agenda expresses a similar belief: “When millions of people vote for a misogynist and an alleged rapist over a woman, it was a slap in the face for women.” There’s no denying that gender and women’s rights was a major topic in the 2024 election. The outcome of the election left many women (especially those from marginalized communities) fearful and disappointed. On the social media platform X, an increased number of posts containing “your body, my choice” reflects the concerns many women hold following Trump’s win. Whether or not this movement will continue to grow, it is evident the vulnerability and fear it reflects. The media has brought to light the strong range of emotions expressed by women across the nation. In addition, it mirrors the extremity of political socialization our country faces. With many liberal women in favor of the movement's goals, while conservatives feel it's a threat to their traditional family values.
The possible effects this movement could have remains a mystery. Many suspect, if the movement continues to grow in the U.S. it could mirror the effects it has had on South Korea. Studies suggest that both men and women in South Korea have reported increased feelings of loneliness, though this is likely influenced by various societal factors. Some observers believe that the movement could have contributed to South Korea's low birth rates, but with the number of other factors that claim is hard to support. What many infer from this movement is an increased gender divide in politics. Politicians could take advantage of the divide for their own gains which in some cases would only worsen the issues this movement is meant to combat.
Arguably, the 4B movement might be too radical for the U.S. Still, it illustrates a growing demand for systemic change.
7 comments:
The 4B movement is a curious thing to me. Not necessarily the root causes of it, or how the movement works, those are pretty clear and quite obvious. No, the main thing that sparks curiosity is what exactly is going to happen. What effect will it have? There were several movements in America that were all responses to particular events or conditions, and that's why a lot of them can often be considered a "success." The BLM movement was a direct response to police violence on Black Americans. The Stop Asian Hate movement was a response to violence on Asian people during the height of Covid-19. But this? The 4B movement doesn't necessarily respond to a localized even that's happening in the US. It's not even really about the election, it's about the voters in the election. Ultimately, it's a movement that is protesting the current structure of society, something that's a much harder goal to reach.
Sure, my opinion doesn't matter much to the growth of the movement, but I'm skeptical that the movement will cause any development with such a wide and near-unachievable goal.
While the sentiment is powerful, I do agree with the speculation about this movement actually gaining traction in America. Considering it originated from South Korea, a country with very different societal and political norms and systems, I can see how it might've had a greater effect there. But in America, where 44% of women aged 18 to 44 and 48% of women aged 45+ still voted for Donald Trump, it's hard to see this movement taking off like it did in South Korea. Factors like these, as well as considering how "trends" live and die very quickly in this decade, also cause me to believe that this movement won't get far. I do remember seeing much talk about the 4B movement on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram right after the election, but for the past weeks following the election I really haven't seen much about it. Now of course I would love to see women's voices being uplifted, especially in a time where a convicted felon and alleged rapist can become president, but I hope it can be done in a different, and hopefully more successful way.
I feel this is a powerful movement, one that I do hope impacts feminism in the US. As far as it being too radical, I wonder how this movement will continue to impact the US. I feel that in some ways, traditional marriages are less frequent today. For instance, many people I know are in long term relationships, though they simply aren't married. I feel this is something that is becoming more popular. I think the 4B movement may take off in the US, especially since there are increasing cries for gender and women's rights. In the wake of Trump's reelection, I fear for the women in marriages who feel they cannot speak out to their true beliefs, in fear of their husbands' beliefs. Though these contrasting beliefs in marriages may not be apparent for everyone, I do know it was a thing in the election. In fact, it made me wonder, hope, that more women would vote opposite their husbands who voted for Trump, and that that would show in the election results. I am curious to see if this powerful movement will inspire another wave of feminism in the US, especially as we enter Trump's second term.
I doubt that this movement will have much of an effect and will just serve as further material/fodder that the right-wingers will use to mock the Democrats. Many women additionally also voted for Trump and I don't believe the rhetoric that people "voted for a felon over a woman" because although there is deep-rooted sexism in this country, Harris was an unpopular candidate compared to other female candidates running in races (on the county/state level). Women should definitely make their own dating decisions and pick spouses that believe in rights, and I think that it's admirable that movements form in response to hatred in the world because bringing people together is important especially in times like these.
This movement is so interesting because it influences so many factors, such as birth rates decreasing as well as according to the South Korea data, loneliness which can on its own, influence a person's well being. However, I don't believe that America's own movement will have the same effect as South Korea. I believe that most Americans don't believe in the effects of these movements or do not want to give them up because of personal reasons, such as wanting to start a family or wanting to get married, etc. I believe because of this, this movement will eventually be used as an example of an extreme, liberal protest that unfortunately did not have as large an impact as they were hoping. However, I do believe that women that are determined to move through with this movement will do so, and I hope that they are able to find a result that helps the overall feminist cause.
I see a lot of similarities between this 4B movement and third parties that appear in elections. Similar to third parties where usually their goal is not to actually win the election, but to address some kind of extreme ideology, and present that to the public for some degree of outcast. In terms of whether this movement will expand in the U.S., I agree with most of the comments that it would not. This is mainly due to things like gender income gap, where in South Korea, women are paid about one-third of men, while in the U.S., women are paid about 84% of what men are paid. The still existing gap is infuriating to look at in the U.S., but at the same time it is not as bad as places like South Korea. I think, or at least believe, the U.S. is at least closer to the equality of men and women, and for that reason I think the 4B movement would not expand in the U.S.
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