Searches for the 4B movement have spiked since Donald Trump’s win over Kamala Harris, compounding the view that the majority of Americans would have anyone lead them over a woman
Women in the USA are researching a controversial movement in South Korea which sees women vow never to date, sleep marry or have children with men ever again.
Searches for the “4B movement” have spiked since Donald Trump’s win over Kamala Harris, compounding the view that the majority of Americans would have anyone – even a convicted criminal – lead them over a woman.
The 4B movement is a protest against the patriarchy, and started in 2019. It stands for four Korean words beginning with bi or no in English:
- Bihon – no hetrosexual marriage
- Bichulsan – no childbirth
- Biyeonae – no dating
- Bisekseu – no heterosexual sexual relationship
Supporters therefore vow to not date, have sex, marry, or have children with a man as a way of boycotting a system they feel perpetuates gender inequity. The 4B movement view is that marriage is an existential threat to women.
A 2018 report revealed in the previous nine years, at least 824 women had been killed and 602 more put at risk of death due to intimate partner violence in the country. A 2021 study found that one in three Korean women have experienced domestic violence, with intimate partners responsible for 46 percent of those cases.
One in four women in England and Wales will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime and two women a week killed in UK by current or former partner.
Yeowon, a 26-year-old office worker from Busan, told The Cut: “Practicing bihon means you’re eliminating the risks that come from heterosexual marriage or dating.
It’s unclear how widespread the 4B movement is given its largely anonymous, but the rise in searches in the USA since the election, which has focused on women’s reproductive rights, appears to have been sparked by social media.
One woman posted on X: “American women, looks like it’s time to get influenced by Korea’s 4B movement.”
While another added: “American women, it’s time to learn from the Koreans and adopt the 4B movement.
And a third wrote: “The women in South Korea are doing it. It’s time we join them. Men will NOT be rewarded, nor have access to our bodies.”
For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk
If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy.
For more info visit www.aafda.org.uk