Radical Movement Urges Women to Give Up Men

In South Korea, a new movement known as “4B” is shaking up traditional norms and making waves overseas. Yeowon, a 26-year-old office worker, has vowed to sever all romantic ties with men to avoid the risks she sees in heterosexual relationships.

She’s not alone: the 4B movement, an abbreviation for “four no’s,” has attracted a groundswell of Korean women who refuse to marry, date, or have sex with men, and reject childbirth. This pushback isn’t merely a trend but an ideological stand against a system they feel has long failed them.

The roots of 4B run deep in South Korea, where women face rigid expectations to uphold Confucian ideals of being dutiful daughters, wives, and mothers.

Despite modern advancements, South Korea ranks last in The Economist’s Glass Ceiling Index for women’s workforce participation. Even in 2021, official guidelines urged pregnant women to “prepare” clothes for their husbands while they were in the hospital, showing how ingrained these ideas are.

The 4B movement, which started online in 2015, was sparked by the #MeToo movement and “Escape the Corset” protests against unattainable beauty standards, morphing into a rejection of traditional female roles.

President Yoon Suk-yeol ran on an anti-feminist platform, accusing feminism of undermining relationships. His election, backed by young male voters frustrated with mandatory military service and traditional dating, highlighted the gender rift. Anti-feminist groups have since joined with religious conservatives to push “familism,” saying it will stabilize society as birth rates plummet.

Now, with Trump’s re-election, some American women are eyeing 4B as a model. The U.S. has seen its birth rate dip to historic lows, and thousands of TikTok videos show women contemplating a similar shift. Dr. Alice Wong of Stanford says that for many American women, Trump’s win represents a rollback on women’s autonomy, pushing them to seek alternatives like 4B.

But is 4B sustainable, or merely a symptom of deeper issues? Experts believe systemic changes are needed. Some say that introducing a four-day workweek and shifting cultural expectations could ease pressures on both sexes.

Countries like Sweden, with more supportive family policies, have seen birth rates increase. For now, the 4B movement continues to grow, challenging social norms both in Korea and beyond, as women forge a new path away from traditional constraints.