4B is a South Korean movement in which women reject marriage, dating, sex, and children with men as a form of protest. Though relatively small in South Korea, it gained significant attention in the United States after Trump’s re-election, with a surge in Google searches and TikTok discussions. Many women, feeling attacked by the election’s implications- especially regarding reproductive rights- turned to 4B as a means of reclaiming autonomy.
Suzanna Danuta Walters, WGSS program director, explains how the election left a lot of women feeling “like they’re under attack.”
Historically, women have used sex and relationships as political tools, but 4B offers a personal, empowering form of resistance that doesn’t rely on external validation. While 4B initially seemed like a “man-hating” stance, Brooke Foster, a 29-year old woman documenting her 4B journey on TikTok, found it ultimately led to a sense of personal freedom and even unexpected support from both men and women online.
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