The 4B Movement: A Women’s Empowerment Community
South Korea has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. Yet that has not deterred crimes against women. The country is on the verge of a crime wave against women. I will cover this later in the article. With the uptick in crimes against women and girls the 4B Movement has taken hold and had become a force to be reckoned with in South Korea.
The 4B Meaning
B in Korea means No. So, women are saying no to the below. It is as follows:1. No dating men.
2. No marrying men.
3. No having sex with men.
4. No having children with men.
The movement emerged in 2017 on Twitter and on the website called WOMAD. Although the movement started in South Korea it has spread internationally and has been a big movement in the United States of America. Women are opting out of dating and having children which has created the so-called Male Loneliness Epidemic.
The 4B movement is considered fringe in South Korea. But with attacks on women and girls and the murder rate increasing among women the movement once again has gained momentum.
Long hair and feminine dress have been a long standard of beauty in South Korean culture. But that dress has also led to women being murdered and or assaulted in stores, trains and while at work. Because of this these women have been cutting their hair short and wearing non gender revealing clothing. Women also make sustainably less money than men while in the same role which is also an issue. The cost of living in South Korea is relatively cheap, but most people are barely making ends meet. Because Koreans are not allowed to work more than one job, they often turn to YouTube to make extra money to assist with their standard of living.
The Less Dead of South Korea
In 2022, a survey of unmarried South Koreans aged 19 to 34 found that 69.7% of women expressed a desire to be married. On the other hand, their male counterparts were 79.8% of men expressed a desire to marry in the future. As in most married households’ women disproportionally perform unpaid labor. Men are still seen as head of the household and contribute little to nothing in the household labor. When women in the 4B movement were interviewed they claimed that the movement has helped them from taking the risk of marriage, which sometimes includes domestic violence, cheating spouses and unequal household labor distribution.The Victims of Society
In a very conservative country like South Korea this movement is a big deal. As a collective society there is an invisible agreement of societal norms and customs in which gender roles must be adhere. But a growing number of young women are rejecting societies expectations of marriage, motherhood and heterosexual relationships. 4B feminists seek to redefine their lives outside the confines of traditional gender roles. The South Korean government has set up a crisis panel to address the issues because of the declining birthrate.Crimes Against Women
A stranger assaulted a woman working inside a convenience store. She was beaten so badly that she lost hearing in one of her ears. Digital sex crimes are on the rise and sexual harassment at the workplace is happening at an alarming rate. For years women were not allowed to complain or bring charges against men because they did not have equal rights. A woman bit the tongue of a man who tried raped her and was sentenced to prison. A man raped a woman walking down the street and then murdered her. The public, mainly women were outraged and demanded justice.Lady Justice
In the wake of the reelection of Donald Trump women in America have increased their interest in the 4B movement. Women have been making YouTube and TikTok videos to discuss the horrors they have been through with men. This includes men cheating, domestic violence, lies in the relationship, men marrying women they hate just to have the free labor and intercourse at the ready.The laws are slowly changing in South Korea. Women are now allowed to divorce their husband when Domestic Violence happens. Men can also be arrested for assault. As things are getting better in South Korea women in American are losing slowly losing our rights. I think Lady Justice will prevail, and the patriarchy will eventually have a reckoning of its own.
References
https://theconversation.com/a-woman-is-not-a-baby-making-machine-a-brief-history-of-south-koreas-4b-movement-and-why-its-making-waves-in-america-243355https://19thnews.org/2024/11/4b-movement-south-korea-social-media-trump-presidency/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4B_movement