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What is the 4B movement? Why some are calling for a South Korea-inspired trend after Trump's victory

What is the 4B movement? Why some are calling for a South Korea-inspired trend after Trump's victory

After President-elect Donald Trump Victory against Vice President Kamala Harris In the 2024 presidential election, young male voters were partly responsible, and some are calling for the deployment of the South Korean “4B Movement” in the USA.

The presidential election was seen by many as a referendum on women's rights. Trump was held liable for sexual abuse and defamation, and his running mate, former Ohio Senator JD Vance, has previously referred to some women as “Childless cat ladies.” The Harris campaign also ran on a platform of supporting a the woman's right to abortionsomething that was in jeopardy in many states following the failure of the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wadewhat Trump has receive recognition for it.

Now some women are vowing to adhere to the code of the “4B Movement,” a South Korean feminist approach that has sworn off men. Here's what you should know about the 4B movement.

What is the 4B movement?

In short, the 4B movement is a vow to swear off men. It is called the 4B movement because the four tenets in Korean each begin with bi, meaning “no,” according to an article published by two South Korean researchers at Yonsei University's Institute of Humanities.

The movement specifically calls for the rejection of dating with men (biyeonae), sexual relations with men (bisekseu), heterosexual marriage (bihon), and childbearing (biculsan) as a response to what South Korean women view as a patriarchal and misogynistic culture. The movement is also known as “4 Nos”.

The 4B movement began in 2017 and gained more attention in 2019 amid a #MeToo-style reckoning in South Korea. Much of the movement has been built online, where participants call themselves “anonymous women” and reveal little personal information. There is no official leadership structure.

SKOREA-8MARCH-WOMEN
South Korean workers march with a banner reading “To the world of gender equality!” during a rally marking International Women's Day in downtown Seoul, March 8, 2024.

JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images


Women in the country have fought against what Human Rights Watch calls “shockingly widespread” gender-based violence and called for tougher penalties for what it calls “shockingly widespread.”Spy cam porn“They also criticized the country's extreme gender pay gap, which resulted in women being paid 31.2% less than men in 2022, according to KoreaTimes, and denounced discrimination in hiring and harassment in the workplace.

What impact did the 4B movement have in South Korea?

The 4B movement is controversial in South Korea. The country's president, Yoon Suk-yeol, said in 2021 that feminist movements were blocking “healthy relationships” between men and women in the country.

According to the New York Times, the country has been struggling with declining birth rates for several years, due in part to the 4B movement.

The 4B Movement in the United States

Following Trump's victory on Tuesday, women on social media expressed interest in following the “4 Nos” movement. Trump did it strong drops with young men under 30, according to CBS News exit polls.

Since the election, several far-right figures have made alarming statements about women's rights on social media. White nationalist Nick Fuentes, the dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago wrote in 2022: “Your body, my choice. Forever.” in a widely criticized post on X. Similar posts are widespread on social media.

In response, women have called for an American version of the 4B movement. Use of the phrase on social media and searches has skyrocketed. Some also refer to “Lysistrata,” a Greek comedy in which women participate in a sex strike to convince the men in their lives to end a war.

“We can't let these men have the last laugh… we have to hold back,” one X user wrote in a post that has racked up nearly 450,000 likes.

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