‘A world without men’: American women are eager to embrace South Korea’s 4B Movement

Now that women’s rights are being jeopardized yet again—this time, on an executive level with the recent election of Donald J. Trump—some American women are choosing to partake in a feminist movement that originated in South Korea, and understandably so.

Not to go full-on doomsday mode here, but … actually, no, I think it’s totally fair to be concerned about women’s well-being as Project 2025 threatens to overthrow the US Constitution as the ruling dogma in an IRL The Handmaid’s Tale. Not only does Project 2025 call for a radical anti-abortion ban and the severe limitation of women’s bodily autonomy, but it also attacks workplace justice. Oh, and did I mention that Christian nationalists also want to penalize unmarried women? Worst. Possible. Timeline.

Yes, somehow, we’re still debating fundamental human rights in 2024. Women’s bodies have never been more of a hot issue in the pantheon of US politics than they are today, and with a lingering sense of doom hanging heavy over this country’s future, it’s not difficult to understand why women are looking for extreme measures to ensure their health and safety, hence South Korea’s contentious 4B Movement.

The 4B Movement goes international

In simple terms, the 4B Movement is a coordinated effort by South Korean women to abstain from sex, marriage, romance with a man, and childbirth as a response to their country’s patriarchal structure on the heels of what many have dubbed the 2022 “incel election.” I think I’ve seen this film before …

It’s easy to draw parallels between what’s happening in South Korea and here in the US, so in the wake of Trump’s historic victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that American women are following suit with a 4B movement of their own—and they’re encouraging women all over the world to do the same.

Essentially, the 4B Movement is hitting ’em where it hurts and tells legislators that women won’t stand to have their bodies become political pawns. For many women, this is actually kind of ideal and makes the best of a bad situation—after all, men tend to cause more harm than good, whether that be in politics, romance, parenthood, etc. By divesting from men, women are leveling the playing field.

Trump and his cult of MAGA loyalists have already proven how far they’ll go to implement extremist anti-women policies by playing a key role in the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, among other things, so the ball is firmly in our court to protest his continued barrage on women and the LGBTQ+ community. With so much at stake, we could certainly learn a thing or two from Korean women, and until things change in this country, I’m personally so on board with the American 4B Movement.