Following the triumph of President-elect Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential election, a significant portion of the victory was attributed to the young male demographic. This has led to discussions about the potential adoption of South Korea’s feminist “4B Movement” in the US.

This election was perceived by many as a critical assessment of women’s rights. Trump has been held accountable for sexual misconduct and slander, and his running mate, ex-Ohio senator JD Vance, has previously disregarded some women as “childless cat ladies”. The campaign led by Harris was founded on upholding a woman’s right to choose, a principle threatened in many states following the overturning of the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, an event for which Trump has claimed responsibility.

In light of this, some women are pledging allegiance to the “4B movement”, a feminist initiative from South Korea that encourages women to distance themselves from men. Here’s an insight into the 4B movement.

The 4B movement is essentially a commitment to avoid men. Named after the Korean word bi, meaning no, the 4B movement has four main principles according to a study by two South Korean scholars at Yonsei University’s Institute of Humanities.

The movement specifically advocates for women to reject dating men, engaging in sexual relationships with men, heterosexual marriage, and childbirth, in response to what is perceived as a male-dominated and misogynistic culture in South Korea. It’s also dubbed as the “4 Nos.”

In 2017, the 4B movement was born and garnered more attention in 2019, amidst a #MeToo-inspired awakening in South Korea. The movement is predominantly active online, with its members identifying as “anonymous women” and revealing minimal personal information. The movement lacks a formal leadership structure.

South Korean women have been actively fighting against what Human Rights Watch labels as “shockingly widespread” gender-based violence and have advocated for stricter penalties for “spy cam porn”. They have also expressed discontent about the country’s severe gender pay gap, which saw women being paid 31.2% less than their male counterparts in 2022, as reported by the KoreaTimes. Additionally, they have been vocal about hiring bias and harassment in professional settings.

The 4B movement has sparked controversy in South Korea. The country’s president, Yoon Suk-yeol, stated in 2021 that feminist movements were “blocking healthy relationships” between men and women. The declining birth rate in the nation, according to The New York Times, is being attributed in part to the 4B movement.

Following Trump’s election win, women on social media expressed interest in adopting the “4 Nos” of the movement in the US. Trump managed to appeal to young men under 30, as indicated by CBS News exit polls. Post-election, several far-right figures made disturbing comments about women’s rights on social media. In response to this, women began advocating for an American version of the 4B movement, leading to a surge in the phrase’s usage on social media and online searches. A popular reference has been made to “Lysistrata,” a Greek comedy where women participate in a sex strike to persuade the men in their lives to cease a war. As one social media user stated in a post that has amassed nearly 450,000 likes, “We can’t let these men have the last laugh… we need to bite back.”