Women have been fighting for their rights for a long time. From the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention onwards, the road towards equality, sexual freedom, and bodily autonomy has been fraught with obstacles. Hard won victories are in perpetual danger of being stripped as seen with the reversal of Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
The recent presidential election had plenty to say about women’s autonomy. The Harris camp pledged to enshrine the right to abortion in federal law. The Trump camp promised a federal abortion ban. With a majority of men casting their ballots for Trump on election day, women everywhere are leaning into their anger, preparing to fight for their rights once again.
Enter the 4B Movement, stage left.
The gruesome origins of 4B
The 4B movement originated in South Korea in the mid-2010s, generated by the murder of a 23-year-old woman in a public bathroom in Seoul’s Gangnam station. She was killed by a 34-year-old male stranger. The movement has grown as a protest against Korea’s misogynistic culture responsible for an epidemic of deep fake porn targeting women, illegal filming of women, and gendered violence.
The 4B movement is founded on four pillars: bihon, meaning no heterosexual marriage; bichulsan, meaning no childbirth; biyeonae, meaning no dating; and bisekseu, meaning no heterosexual sex. South Korea is a deeply-unequal society where women are expected to appeal to men through their physical appearance, get married, and have children.
Due to strict maternity leave policies, women must often pick between work and home after they marry. Korea has the largest pay gap in the world with women earning 31% less than their male counterparts. In addition, the country also has a high rate of gendered abuse, 46% of which women experience from their domestic partners.
The 4B movement rejects the impossible standards imposed on women and is more than a boycott of men. In South Korea, it’s a liberation from strict societal norms, an option for a fulfilling life without men.
Trump wins
President elect Donald J. Trump often speaks of women in degrading terms. He brags about what he’s been able to get away with and boasts that he engineered Roe v. Wade’s reversal thanks to his conservative Supreme Court nominees. Going into the 2024 election, Trump said that once in office, he would support a national abortion ban. Not out of character, Trump reversed that stance in September of 2024. Later, he did not answer a question during the debate on whether he would veto any legislation proposing the ban.
Trump’s win emboldened many in his base. The phrase “your body, my choice,” coined by the far-right pro-Nazi troll Nick Fuentes, circulated across X on election night. The phrase is a threat of forced pregnancy and forced sex; it dehumanizes women into servants for the patriarchy. The Vice President elect J.D. Vance has called childless women “cat ladies” and “miserable.” One of Trump’s advisors, Elon Musk, said in an unsolicited X post that he would give Taylor Swift “a child.”
A win for Trump is a defeat for feminism and bodily autonomy felt by women across the country.
4B trends in the U.S.
Compared to 2020, the Trump camp made gains amongst women and men across the board. While exit polls showed that 55% of men voted for Trump, a majority of women between ages 18 and 49 backed Harris. The day after the election, Google searches for the 4B movement spiked and videos championing the movement as a whole mushroomed across social media. One certified X user, @solitasims, posted: “ladies, I’m being so fr when I say this, it’s time to close off your wombs to males. this election proves now more than ever that they hate us & hate us proudly. do not reward them.”
4B fits the mold of what has been trending on social media in 2024. Some creators gave tips on how to style man repeller fashion. Others shared how they’re going boysober, a term coined by comedian Hope Woodward who is abstaining from romantic relationships. Celibacy is nothing new but it has gained traction among women in the U.S. since the #metoo movement and the reversal of Roe V. Wade. Women feel unsafe, unheard, and are frustrated with men voting against their health, safety, and autonomy.
Responses to 4B
4B’s surge in the U.S. has gone viral with cutthroat social media posts urging women to cut ties with men. One tiktok from @prettyboymessiah with over 3 million views declares “you lost your rights and they lost the right to hit raw!”
A Reddit user, @katecard, commented on a 4B thread saying, “Stop giving birth to your oppressor. […] Stop being friends with your oppressor.” A now deleted post on that same thread added, “[Men] all have to be punished in a way they can understand.”
Not surprisingly, 4B has garnered quite a bit of criticism. In early November, Buzzfeed asked its community to comment on the movement. One anonymous source called 4B “stupid”, another said it’s “ridiculous.” Many right wing men have taken to X to mock 4B. One user, @BobbysTweetsCo, said “[…] I fully endorse the 4B movement. Men will have a much easier time weeding out the crazies. […] sometimes problems just fix themselves.” Others have said that 4B plays right into the conservative agenda of purity culture.
Further, violence towards women openly showing interest in 4B has already started. According to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a think tank focused on extremism, the phrase “your body, my choice” has experienced a 4,600% increase on social media. This, along with “get back in the kitchen,” has circulated across social media on women’s accounts in the first 24-hours following the election.
4B is also being misconstrued as a sex strike. While sex strikes can gain a movement quite a bit of publicity, historically there’s been little evidence as to whether they work. Liberian women’s rights activist Leymah Gbowee, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for leading a protest that was credited with ending the second Liberian civil war, confirmed in her memoir that sex strikes have “little to no practical effect.”
Looking forward
The incoming administration has hostile views towards women regarding bodily autonomy and reproductive health. Social media turning towards 4B points to a visceral need to act in the face of Trump’s devastating win. Looking to 4B for comfort and guidance is a way for many to find stability in their lives right now, a way to regain some power and control.
For 4B to become a part of the zeitgeist, those interested need to understand the movement’s origins. It’s not about punishing men. In fact, it isn’t about men at all. As one participant in Korea says, 4B is “a journey for women to step away from relationships with men and take time to understand who they are, what they like, and how to live for themselves.”
The movement inspired women in South Korea to fight back against their misogynistic society by removing themselves from the patriarchal equation. It’s just one way in which women can protest against a rule of law that won’t listen. Participating means approaching the movement with an open mind and clear intentions. If the pillars don’t fit a woman’s personal journey, there are other ways to take a stand. America has a long history of women speaking truth to power and winning, 4B is just one way.
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