What is the 4B movement and why are women talking about it after Trump’s election victory?

South Korean 4B movement Following the results, there was an increase in interest 2024 US presidential election.

Republican candidate on Wednesday morning, November 6 Donald Trump He declared victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. Former president celebrates Supreme Court overturn in 2022 during his 2024 re-election campaign Roe v Wadea decision that ended the right to abortion nationwide. Reproductive rights were also what led many women to go to the polls on Election Day. Missouri becomes first state to repeal restrictive abortion ban.

But after Trump declared victory over Democratic nominee Harris, some Americans couldn’t help themselves. They say they feel their belief has been reaffirmed that most of the United States would prefer someone else to be president rather than a woman. Perhaps that’s why interest in South Korea’s 4B movement, a movement against patriarchy, surged in the United States just hours after Trump’s victory.

“American women, looks like it’s time to get influenced by Korea’s 4B movement,” one woman said wrote on X/Twitter.

“American women, it’s time to learn from the Koreans and embrace the 4B movement,” another user said echoedIf a third person in question: “Women in South Korea do this. Now it’s time for us to join them. Men will not be rewarded and will not have access to our bodies.

The 4B movement, which reportedly emerged in 2019, represents four Korean words that begin with the English “bi” or “no”: bihon, meaning no heterosexual marriage; bichulsan, no birth; bioyeonae, no flirting; and bisekseu, no heterosexual sexual intercourse. Supporters of the women-led movement refuse to date, marry, have sex, or have children with men; they are effectively boycotting a system they believe perpetuates gender inequality.

Members of the 4B movement see marriage as an existential threat to women, and their concerns are well-founded. Just like in the United States, South Korean women face gender pay gaps. While American women generally earn 82 cents for every dollar earned by men, South Korean women earn 31 percent less than men; This is the highest gender pay gap in any democratic country. A. 2018 report It was revealed that at least 824 women were killed due to intimate partner violence (IPV) in the last nine years and 602 more women were at risk of death. A. 2021 survey It also found that one in three Korean women has experienced domestic violence, and their intimate partners were responsible for 46 percent of these cases.

In contrast, women within the 4D movement chose to break away from traditional relationships altogether, arguing that the practice of “bihon” was the only path to autonomy. “Practicing bihon means you eliminate the risks associated with heterosexual marriage or dating,” said Yeowon, a Busan native. Cut.

It is unclear how widespread the 4D movement is, given its largely anonymous and offline nature, and its origins are equally unclear. However, scientists think this rise is linked to the widening education gap between men and women in South Korea. Similar to the gender education gap in the US Women make up 59.5 percent of all university studentsAs of 2013, Korean women surpassed men in college enrollment rates. Today, nearly three-quarters of Korean women pursue higher education, while less than two-thirds of men pursue higher education.

This shift fueled growing tensions between men and women, with groups of disgruntled men using the term “kimchinyeo” or “kimchee women” to stereotype college-educated women as “selfish, arrogant, and exploitative of their partners.” Euisol Jeong she explained in her research on “troll feminism.”

These cultural attitudes reflect trends in the United States, where men are grappling with changing gender roles. Many feel the pressure of fewer blue-collar jobs and reduced educational benefits. Men tend to vote for conservative candidates For some, like Trump, who promises a return to traditional values ​​that prioritize men’s interests at the expense of women’s autonomy.

Anthropologist “Masculinity is changing” Treena Garden It was said recently Independent In an interview about the gender political gap. “Men feel constrained and as if they have fewer options for how to perform masculinity, how to think about their place in the world, and feel undervalued.”

For many women in South Korea, the 4B movement is not just symbolic; a social stance that aims to take back control over their lives, bodies, and futures in response to a system they view as increasingly hostile.

Bringing the 4B movement to the United States after elections in which women’s rights, such as reproductive autonomy, were threatened could be a radical response. However, America’s growing interest in the 4D movement underscores shared frustration with what many see as the decline of women’s rights and freedoms, especially as conservative values ​​gain ground among male voters.

As the movement gains momentum online, a question emerges: Will American women rally around it, or will they create their own version as a form of protest against Trump’s second term in the White House?