Realities
The 4B Movement, Explained | A Closer Look at This Stance
While watching the news and scrolling the internet after the 2024 US presidential election, something caught my attention: the 4B movement.
After the results were finalized, Chas Newkey-Burden from The Week UK says Google searches regarding the subject spiked by about 3,000%. In many videos, women (especially young ones) expressed their dismay and rage, shared information about the movement, and contemplated adopting it.
But why did the 4B movement start in the US? What are women trying to accomplish? How does it work? Read on to find out.
What Is the 4B Movement About?
Mariel Padilla from PBS News says the social movement originated in South Korea in the mid-to late-2010s. It advocates for the refusal or rejection of these four things: marriage (bihon), childbirth (bichulsan), relationships (biyeonae), and sex (bisekseu). Each word has the prefix B, a shorthand for bi — the Korean word for no.
The South Korea 4B movement sprang from other advocacies that rose in and outside the country during the same period, such as the Escape the Corset and #MeToo movements.
Social conditions aren’t the only factor influencing it. South Korea’s economic boom and ever-decreasing birth rates also contributed to its ascent. As reported by Newkey-Burden, the country consistently has the worst gender pay gap among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member governments, and the movement seeks to address that.
Another event also caused its rise: the 2016 murder of a woman by a man in a Seoul public bathroom. The brutal incident shocked the country because it wasn’t labeled a gender-based hate crime. This incensed many women, leading them to discuss their sentiments in online communities.
There have been offline protests dedicated to the cause throughout the years, but a large amount of the activism happens virtually. This is one reason people can’t easily assess the movement’s scale.
Why Are American Women Considering or Practicing It?
There are reasons American women are considering or already giving the movement a shot.
First, they have had enough of what they perceive as unequal treatment. The movement is an outlet for them to push back against, in their eyes, injustices towards women (and, to an extent, all fellow humans).
Second, it’s a defense barrier for many advocates. They may have seen fellow women subjugated or experienced such treatment themselves. For them, the movement protects them from such harshness, giving them some semblance of power back for themselves.
Lastly, they want to live their lives on their own terms. These women refuse to subscribe to conventions they feel are outdated and forced.
What the 4B Movement Isn’t
Some men view the 4B movement in the US as a punishment. They believe they’re paying the price for mistakes they didn’t commit and feel like women are out to get them. It’s as if they’re being generalized as nothing but no-do-gooders.
People are entitled to their feelings. But the movement is neither a crusade against men nor insists on one gender’s dominance over the other. Like most social movements, this one wants to drive change for long-term betterment — equal and fair treatment for women.
Although it’s gaining ground in international circles, don’t let the 4B movement stop you from dating beyond your borders. If women see your genuine and well-meaning intentions, they won’t perceive you as a threat. They won’t think twice about giving you their time and attention.
References:
Newkey-Burden, Chas. 2024. “South Korea’s 4B Movement: What Is It and Could It Take Off in the West?” The Week.
https://theweek.com/culture-life/what-is-south-korea-4b-movement.
Padilla, Mariel. 2024. “No Sex. No Dating. No Marriage. No Children. Interest Grows in 4B Movement to Swear off Men.” PBS.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/no-sex-no-dating-no-marriage-no-children-interest-grows-in-4b-movement-to-swear-off-men.
