After Trump’s win, some women are considering the 4B movemen

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In the hours and days since it became clear that Donald Trump would be re-elected president of the United States, there’s been a surge of interest in the US for 4B.

Young liberal women across TikTok and Instagram are discussing and sharing information about the South Korean feminist movement, in which straight women refuse to marry, have children, date or have sex with men.

These women say they are enraged and fed up after a majority of their male counterparts voted for a candidate who was found liable for sexual abuse and whose appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices led to the overturning of national abortion rights protections.

In response, they say they’re swearing off men — and they’re encouraging others around the country to join them.

“We have pandered and begged for men’s safety and done all the things that we were supposed to, and they still hate us,” Ashli Pollard, a 36-year-old in St. Louis, told CNN.

“So if you’re going to hate us, then we’re going to do what we want.”

What is the 4B movement?

4B is a shorthand for the four Korean words bihon, bichulsan, biyeonae and bisekseu, which translate to no marriage, no childbirth, no dating and no sex with men.

The 4B movement emerged in South Korea around 2015 or 2016, per Ju Hui Judy Han, an assistant professor in gender studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Mostly popular among young women in their 20s, she described it as a fringe offshoot of #MeToo and other feminist movements that arose in response to stark gender inequality in the country....

...It’s far too early to tell whether the 4B movement might seriously catch on in the US. But so far, at least, it’s generated a lot of online discussion among young women...

...Pollard says she learned about South Korea’s 4B movement a few years ago, inspiring her to “examine what a life looks like without centering men so deeply.” Since 2022, she says she hasn’t dated or slept with men and has realized that she’s better off on her own. She has the resources to support herself without marriage, and she plans to have a child alone.

Her decision to disengage from men wasn’t necessarily an act of vengeance, she says. Rather, it was about putting herself first. Now that other women around the country have taken an interest in 4B, she says she wants them to realize that they have other options.

“You push people far enough and they’re done,” she says. “How will that affect politics? We’ll see … but I think that women and their joy is going to be something that can’t really be overlooked anymore. Women are choosing themselves in droves.”...
...

Some are skeptical 4B will catch on

In Han’s view, the 4B movement is unlikely to become mainstream in the US.

She says it relies too heavily on the gender binary and that those inspired to join it as a result of the election are overlooking the fact that plenty of women voted for Trump, too. (Though Vice President Kamala Harris maintained an edge with women, exit polls indicate that her lead was smaller than President Joe Biden’s or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s during their respective presidential campaigns.)

Hadia Khanani, a 24-year-old from Florida, also has reservations about 4B in the US. Though she hasn’t engaged with men romantically for several years in an effort to prioritize herself, she wants women to dig deeper and examine their own role in upholding patriarchy. She also worries about the consequences of further isolating men.

“The conversation online has been centered around sleeping with men and dating men, obviously to protect yourself, but I just feel like misogyny and patriarchy is much deeper than that,” she says. “I think a lot of it is rooted in the way that men are raised in society.”

Even if large numbers of women don’t adopt the strict tenets of 4B, those who are taking part for now hope the recent conversations around it lead women to think about themselves and their circumstances differently.

“I don’t ever expect everyone in America to hold hands and agree not to date men,” Abby K. says. “I could definitely see it fueling change in some way.”...

plenty of women voted for Trump, too.

I wouldn’t date someone who voted for Trump or who was otherwise conservative, but that’s nothing new with me. As far as red flags go, it doesn’t get much bigger than voting for a sexual predator… The pervasive problem with sexual harassment I’ve seen, heard of, and experienced on online platforms recently is also concerning. I wouldn’t blame women at all if they decided this movement was something they wanted to be a part of.

I couldn’t stand Reagan or either of the Bushes although they aren’t as bad as Trump. That’s not saying much. We’re talking the very bottom of the barrel here.

Anti-intellectualism has been a key component of the Republican Party for a long time, and I find it especially concerning because it impedes social progress.

Opinion: Why did so many men vote for Trump? He reminded them they matter.

Are men really necessary?

Based on last week's election results and exit polling, the answer is a resounding yes.

America needs a Republican duo like Donald Trump and JD Vance to right its course...

...A lot of Americans voted to reelect former President Trump in this election, nearly 75 million ‒ including myself. But the demographic who voted the most for Trump is men, including Latino men, white men and men without a college degree.

For decades, extremists on the political and social left has told America's men loudly and often that they are stupid, predatory and unnecessary.

Painted by influential progressives in higher education, the entertainment industry and the news media as ignorant, loathsome and incompetent, America's men had their revenge on Election Day.

They voted for Trump in huge numbers....

...For years, the phrase "toxic masculinity" took over discussions about men. Any success by men was discounted as a privilege of the patriarchy. The #MeToo movement presumed men guilty until proven innocent.

Men were told not so subtly to be quiet and to fade away. They were more dangerous than a bear in the woods. And less necessary than a fish with a bicycle.

The Harris campaign doubled down on this narrative, focusing on young women to the point of pandering. She hung out on "The View" and "Call Her Daddy," and snubbed Rogan's invitation to speak to the millions of young men who listen to his podcast.

Trump and Vance sent a very different message: Men, you belong. Men, we appreciate you. Men who are masculine, kind, hardworking and family-oriented. You are necessary and you are vital. We will work together to fix what's broken so the people we love are safe and thrive....

I didn't think that anyone was still talking about "toxic masculinity" or "patriarchy"--I had thought that those issues had been buried in the past.