(NewsNation) — One day after now President-elect Donald Trump won the White House, beating the second woman to go against him, a new movement centered around boycotting men has seen an uptick in online interest.
The 4B movement, which originated in South Korea, is described as a feminist movement against the patriarchy and has been gaining steam on social media.
The hashtag has thousands of videos, but more have been created after the presidential election.
What is the 4B movement?
The movement is centered around “four no’s,” which are no to dating men, getting married, having kids and having sex, reported Bustle.
In Korean, these words all start with the prefix “bi,” which translates to “no” in English.
Supporters say the movement is a way to boycott a system that perpetuates gender inequity.
It sprang up around 2019 in South Korea amid a wave of antifeminist movements boosted by the election of the conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Women informally began practicing it and shared how it made them feel more in control, the outlet reported.
“Although these core principles of women refusing to interact with men in these ways may seem extreme, I think it is important to situate the movement within a wider social context, and within the trajectory of feminist movements themselves,” Nicole Dular, an assistant professor of philosophy at Notre Dame of Maryland University, said in a blog post. “Doing so helps to make sense of why so many women find the notion of a life free from men so appealing, and, perhaps, even rational.”
Dular stated several factors that led to the movement, including the gender wage gap.
“Women performing significantly more labor in relationships with men and yet benefiting less than men do in the relationship—allow us to see the 4B movement as, fundamentally, a labor strike,” she wrote.
Why are people talking about it after the election?
The movement began catching wind in the United States years ago but has gone viral following Trump’s reelection.
Gender and gender-based rights appeared to be a large part of the presidential election and other state races.
Abortion and reproductive rights were a few of the main issues on the minds of voters and ones that Harris pushed on the campaign trail.
After Trump installed three Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, federal protection for abortion ended, causing hardships to women in states with severe restrictions.
Trump has also been accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women.
Now, with his second administration, women say they have to respond.
“The easiest and fastest way to join the fight as a woman is to engage in and promote the #4BMovement straight up,” a user posted on X hours after Trump’s win.
“American women it’s time to learn from the koreans and adopt the 4b movement, as a matter of fact women from all over the world should adopt the 4b movement. i’m so serious,” another X user posted.
“Ladies, we need to start considering the 4B movement like the women in South Korea and give America a severely sharp birth rate decline:- no marriage- no childbirth- no dating men- no sex with men. We can’t let these men have the last laugh… we need to bite back,” posted another.
