Election of Donald Trump In the United States, South Korea’s radical feminist struggle preaching the four B’s has led to increased interest in the 4B movement: bi-hon (no marriage), bi-yeonae (no meeting), bi-sekseu (no sex) and bi-chulsan (no birth).

There have been more than 500,000 searches for “4b movement” on Google since November 5; And on TikTok, Instagram and X, support for this cause is growing among young female voters who swear by swearing at men.

“Ladies, we need to start thinking about the 4B movement like the women in South Korea and give America a seriously sharp stand. birthrate decline,” read a post With over 450,000 likes on X.

“We can’t let these guys have the last laugh…we have to fight back.”

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Another read: “Remember that the 4D movement, and the separatist movement in general, is not just about avoiding men, it is also about supporting and investing in women.”

Here’s what you need to know about the movement and its impact in South Korea:

What is the 4D movement and when did it emerge?

Although its exact origins or founder are unknown, scholars and activists agree that the 4B movement began in South Korea after 2015 as part of a broader wave of youth-led radical feminism popularized through online forums.

Its emergence coincided with several key events that triggered broader consideration of gender inequalities and violence against women in South Korea’s workplace.

One of these events was this: murder of a young woman In a public toilet in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district in 2016. The attacker, a 34-year-old man with a history of mental illness, later told the police that he stabbed the woman, whom he did not know, because she was killed by him. He was shunned by women in the past.

The movement was further encouraged The arrival of the #MeToo movement in South Korea The year 2018 also saw mass public protests against the widespread circulation of non-consensual pornography.

Describing the 4B movement, feminist scholar Yoon-kim Ji-young wrote in 2020: “For women, love, dating, marriage, and childbirth were no longer perceived as havens of peace and security, but as areas of exposure to male violence and subordination.” It is defined as “the complete cessation of any emotional, mental, financial or physical dependence on men.”

In recent years, some fans have expanded the move with a variant known as 6B. bi-sobi (not consuming products that promote misogyny or engage in sexist marketing), and bi-dop-bi — solidarity between unmarried women.

Despite bursts of virality and media coverage, the movement is still far from the mainstream and given its decentralized online presence, there is no concrete data on how many South Korean women actively identify as “4B.”

One of the most common ways for fans to signal their commitment is to share social media posts with 4B-related hashtags, such as investment tips for women’s financial independence and photos showing happy unmarried lives.

Some cities, including Daejeon and Gwangju, also have 4D-themed offline communities where followers can socialize through sports, book clubs or skill-building workshops.

Some feminist scholars and activists in South Korea have criticized these lifestyle-oriented aspects of the 4B movement, arguing that individual actions to withdraw from the movement ultimately do little to meaningfully advance women’s gender and reproductive rights in society. “At the heart of young women’s commitment to 4D is their desire to focus on themselves,” feminist scholar Cho Joo-hyun wrote in 2020.

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“The logical endpoint of this is to become a successful individual in a neoliberal society.”

Where does South Korea stand on gender equality?

By many measures of gender equality, South Korea lags behind much of the industrialized world.

The wage gap between men and women is the biggest Among the 38-member Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) of rich countries, South Korean women earn salaries on average one-third less than their male counterparts. World Economic Forum in 2023 Global Gender Gap IndexSouth Korea ranks 105th in the study, which measures gender equality across economic opportunities, education, health and political leadership in 146 countries.

Inequalities at home also remain stark. In households where both partners work, women spend an average of 187 minutes a day on housework, according to 2019 government data, while men spend less than a third of that (54 minutes).

Violence against women has also been criticized as an area that has been neglected for a long time. Dating violence has risen sharply in the country of 51 million, rising from 49,225 cases reported in 2020 to 77,150 last year, according to police. Additionally, women in the country fell victim to deepfake pornography According to online content analysis by US-based cyber security firm Security Hero between July and August last year, it is among the highest rates in the world.

Read more:South Korea’s Truth Commission says it has found more evidence of forced adoption in the 1980s

In the last elections in South Korea conservative President Yoon Suk YeoI‘s campaign was widely criticized for making misogynistic appeals to young male voters; Yoon has denied that structural sexism exists and has vowed to increase penalties for false rape accusations.

Has the 4B movement succeeded in lowering South Korea’s birth rate?

On the contrary allegations It is on social media that the 4B movement is behind it. South Korea’s dismal fertility rateThere is little evidence to support this.

South Korea’s fertility rate The average number of children a woman has in her lifetime is currently 0.72; this is the lowest number in the world and is well below the 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population. Like most developed economies, South Korea’s fertility rate has been declining steadily since 1980. Researchers attributed the first significant decline in 2001 – to “trough-low” levels below 1.3 – to labor market shocks caused by the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.

Rising housing and child-rearing costs in recent years, as well as workplace pressures forcing women to choose between motherhood and career, have caused this figure to fall further.

While it is true that young South Koreans are increasingly disillusioned with marriage in favor of childless or celibate lifestyles, these changes are not unique to women. According to government data, today only 28% of South Korean women and 42% of men in their 20s see marriage as necessary; this rate was around 50% and 70% in 2008.

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This story first appeared on: Los Angeles Times.