Inside the 4B Movement and How It Has Made Its Way to the United States in Record Time

After what many assumed would be a much tighter finish to the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump won against Kamala Harris, and he was announced as the president-elect soon after the electoral votes were counted in his favor. But after his win was revealed, some women in the United States declared that they would join the 4B movement.

However, what does the 4B movement mean? It originated in South Korea among feminist women who were tired of being objectified and treated less favorably than men. Although it isn't a new concept, it is something that American women have learned about thanks to social media, and many have shared their decision to join it.

The 4B movement began in South Korea 2019. It started because some women made the decision to no longer be with men sexually or even romantically. The main components of the 4B movement involve not marrying men, dating them, having kids with them, or sleeping with them at all. The Korean words for those four main ideas of the movement each start with the letter B.

A University of Maine professor, Amy Blackstone, explained what the 4B movement means to The Midst. She shared that the movement was created as a direct response to the pressure put on women in South Korea to have children and stop the increase in low fertility rates. Part of what makes the movement work is having numerous women from all over the world join in to support it.

"When you're pushing back against something as profound as the expectation of marriage, child-rearing, heterosexuality, and beauty, you gotta have your people behind you," Blackstone told the outlet. "And it sounds like the 4B movement does, which is great."

The ideas behind the 4B movement might be something that American women were silently considering or even practicing already. However, with Trump returning to office and the fear of losing reproductive rights, among other rights, women are publicly turning to the 4B movement.

Refusing to date someone already came with its dangers ahead of the 4B movement, as plenty of women have seen. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), an American person is raped every 68 seconds. While that does not always happen because of a date, or refusal to be with someone, it's a risk that women take.

And, according to one user on TikTok, there are dangers associated with following the 4B movement of refusing sex, relationships, marriage, and children.

"Women just simply saying no has led to more violence towards them, which is no surprise," the user shared in their TikTok. "Men have literally admitted they will just [rape] women if that's the path we choose. Men care less about us than you think. They care more about the economy and gas prices than our bodily rights. Please stay safe."