The 4B movement, a radical feminist movement originating in South Korea, has recently gained attention in the United States. This movement calls for women to liberate themselves from sexual, social, bodily, and psychological oppression.
Women participate in a rally to celebrate International Women's Day in Seoul, South Korea. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Origins in South Korea
This feminist movement harks back to 2016, when the "Escape the Corset" trend first started on South Korean social media. The "Escape the Corset" Movement that started in 2016 served as a source of inspiration for the 4B movement. The word "corset" is used by Korean feminists as a metaphor for the societal mechanisms that bind and repress women, including toxic beauty standards.
In a society where beauty holds immense cultural and economic significance, members of the "Escape the Corset" Movement criticize and resist cosmetic procedures, demanding skincare or makeup rituals, and the adoption of trendy clothing, all seen as perpetuating consumerism and misogynistic social norms. In protest, they express their defiance by destroying makeup, forgoing cosmetic enhancements, shaving their heads, and rejecting fashionable attire.
Infographic demonstrating the "Escape the Corset" Movement. Source: Squarespace
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The Four Nos
4B or "Four Nos" is a radical feminist movement that originated in South Korea. The fringe South Korean movement calls for the rejection of childbirth, marriage, dating and sex.
The 4B movement is a South Korean feminist movement that centers around four main tenets:
- Bihon: The refusal of heterosexual marriage
- Bichulsan: The refusal of childbirth
- Biyeonae: The refusal of dating men
- Bisekseu: The rejection of heterosexual sexual relationships as a whole
The 4B movement encompasses not only criticisms of the pro-natalist turn in state policy and protests against it, but also various forms of self-help discussions and practices that are explicitly oriented towards women's individual futures.
Prior to these two movements there was the bihon movement, meaning no marriage, and was not inherently ‘man-hating’. But after the liberation from corsets, the 4B movement was spawned, or the 4-No movement, and it expanded the bihon movement. At its core, the movement adheres to the principle of individualism. Focus on yourself, pursue yourself. Ignore the other species and refrain from reproducing; if you need someone, seek out another female.
South Korean women and men hold signs reading “Stop assuming women as false accusers” and “Denouncing the secondary victimization,” during a pro-#metoo protest. Source: NPR
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Impact and Controversy
It isn’t exactly clear how many women actively participate, but in 2019, the group claimed to have around 4,000 members. But one thing that’s very clear is that the country’s birth rate has continued to rapidly decline; South Korea currently has the lowest fertility rate in the world.
Many South Korean women are reluctant to have children due to the lack of workplace accommodations. The movement is considered fringe in South Korea, and it has since reportedly declined there.
One element of this trend - women shaving their heads in protest - has gone slightly more under the radar. Hair - and how it is styled - can be political, personal, but also a symbol of femininity. It is believed to symbolise a way of repelling men from women.
Backlash and Criticism
The backlash was swift. Cancer survivors and women who suffer from alopecia have come out to condemn the trend. Many feel personally targeted by the rhetoric that having no hair makes them unattractive to men. Others have taken to mockery to condemn the trend.
But what seemed to start as a feminist movement purely set about to demand respect for the female gender has devolved into a misandry movement. The development of the Korean feminist sites, Womad and Megalia, proves this, as many slurs and hateful speech directed toward men can be found on the forum.
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4B Movement in the United States
After the 2024 United States presidential election in which Donald Trump won a second term, some American women expressed interest in the 4B movement as a form of protest against Trump's election, his alleged sexual assaults, and his role in the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Life Without Men: The 4B Movement
In the week since Trump’s election victory, between the numbness and overall dread, maybe you’ve heard or read the phrase “4B movement”. First of all, you wouldn’t be alone in your curiosity. Searches for the “4b movement,” which originated in South Korea in 2016, spiked nearly 100% in the last seven days.
During his first term in office, Trump nominated three of the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe. The idea of becoming pregnant and not having access to a safe abortion terrifies Christine.
Last week, November 6th, the United States citizens learned that Donald J. Trump was once again going to reclaim the presidential seat for the next four years. This news sent more than half the nation into cheers of celebration and the remaining portion dissolved into tears of rage.
Motivations and Reactions
For many women, the 2024 presidential election was rooted in reproductive rights -- with President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris' campaigns offering two very different visions for abortion access in America. In the wake of Trump's victory on Tuesday, and with anti-abortion initiatives passing in several states, a South Korean feminist movement that advocates for women to swear off men and childbirth entirely has become abuzz on social media.
“Women are refusing to have kids until they’re treated equally,” Drew Afualo explained on Rainn Wilson’s podcast. That is certainly part of the movement.
American women on the political left felt the male population in the country needed to be punished.
Their method? “All women should stop having sex for the next four years in protest and protection of your bodies as we know if that little baby inside you gives you any trouble and you need an emergency health care you’re fu**** and you’re gonna die. I think that is sufficient enough reason to stop having sex don’t you agree.
But, if nothing else, the movement can inspire folks to consider that they do not have to settle for the status quo-especially as the status quo is about to get even more dystopian.
Author Mingyeong Lee, a member of the 4B movement. Source: DW
Statistics and Data
South Korea has the lowest fertility rate in the world, with women of reproductive age having fewer than one child on average, according to data released in 2023. In South Korea, where the movement has been in full swing for the last five years has one obvious result: the lowest fertility rate in the world at 0.72. This is well below the replacement rate (2.1) , meaning that South Korea is going to continue shrinking until it’s halved by the end of the century.
The following table presents fertility rates in South Korea from 2019 to 2023:
| Year | Fertility Rate |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 0.92 |
| 2020 | 0.84 |
| 2021 | 0.81 |
| 2022 | 0.78 |
| 2023 | 0.72 |
The truth of the matter is that 45% of the women who voted, voted for Trump. Men were not the only driving force for Trump’s victory, as women had a role to play in it as well. Young women under the age of thirty actually shifted eleven points toward Trump in this election.