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You may have seen the 4B movement in headlines on CNN and The New York Times, or seen the term plastered throughout social media. Many American women were inspired to talk about the idea in response to Donald Trump’s presidential victory and the deadly effects of abortion bans. Looking to the future of feminist movements in the United States, especially after the 2024 election, 4B could be a revolution –or, it could simply be a performance.

The 4B movement was born in South Korea, and represents the individual choice to reject heterosexual relationships as a protest against patriarchal society. The name comes from the four actions that 4B-aligned Korean women are striking against, with each word beginning with “bi”: bihon, no marriage; bichulsan, no childbirth; biyeonae, no dating; and bisekseu, no sex.

Seoul-based journalist Raphael Rashid wrote a story for The Guardian exploring how South Korea is grappling with backlash against feminism. Rashid said 4B was created in the mid-2010s as a result of a wide gender pay gap, femicide and digital sex crimes. 4B is South Korean women’s response to being murdered for “ignoring” men and for being sexually abused and harassed with the use of artificial intelligence technology. Tracking the specific impact of 4B in South Korea is almost impossible, however, thanks to its purely digital format.

Many point to abortion bans throughout right-leaning states and to women who’ve lost their lives due to lack of healthcare as the driving forces behind 4B’s impact with women in America. Online hate speech targeted at women and their reproductive freedom spiked after the election as “Your body, my choice” is echoed by narrow-minded men across social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook.

Syracuse University junior Isabelle Gardener said she first heard about the 4B movement online around two years ago and noticed its media resurgence after Trump was re-elected.

“That’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot, is how do I assert my own autonomy,” she said, wondering how she could exert control over her own sexuality under the incoming administration. While Gardener did say that she was following the 4B idea of striking against men, she thought of it as an individual choice of celibacy instead of being a part of a movement.

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Jiwoon Yulee, a professor at SU who teaches about women’s and gender studies, said it’s hard to argue that 4B is a movement due to its independent and digital approach. “In order for it to be a political movement, we need more real organizing activities beyond individual online-based traction,” Yulee said.

Yulee agreed to an interview with ABC about 4B due to her interest in the subject and South Korean nationality, and she let me join alongside her. While the piece has yet to be published, Yulee made a point in the discussion to highlight South Korean movements that create collective change, like the BB Cooperative. The movement was created by single women in 2010 to nurture those in need. Yulee said this included building community spaces for single women through affordable and safe housing projects, organizing workshops, study groups, yoga and meditation classes.

She also touched on causes that include the LGBTQ+ community, highlighting how the Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights group in Korea is pushing a comprehensive anti-discrimination law. 4B cannot support women in this diverse community due to its heteronormative approach. Feminist social movements looking to create change should include all minority groups, especially queer women.

It makes sense why women in the U.S. are drawn to following the tenets of 4B. But cherry-picking feminist ideas from other countries won’t help create collective action and policy change in America now. While subscribing to the motivations behind 4B might make American women feel safer in the short term, we should use the response as a starting point in feminist action instead of an end goal.

As 4B takes a singular approach, it may be best to compartmentalize its impact. From now on, we need to look to those who can organize and create measurable change, like the BB Cooperative and Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights. By referencing and learning from these organizations and others like them, we can begin to work beyond the individual and for society as a whole.

Bella Tabak is a junior majoring in magazine journalism. She can be reached at batabak@syr.edu.

Published on December 9, 2024 at 9:51 pm