What is 4B movement?

There were and are many women in this world in the past and present who had and have decided to have no sexual relations in life with men. But this decision did not go by any particular name. It was just called singlehood or state of remaining a spinster lifelong. But now this has become a movement and is called 4B movement. What is 4B movement? Where did it start? And when did it start?

What is the 4B movement?

4B movement started in South Korea around 2016. Social media helped it spread and now post-USA 2024 elections and Trump win, it has gained momentum amongst the American ladies as well.

In this movement, women swear off men completely. They decide to not date, have relationship or sex, and not marry men or bear their children. South Korean women started it after there were innumerable instances of violence against women and when gender inequality rose. In Korean language, bi means No. And in 4B movement, it is:

-No heterosexual sex

-No dating men

-No marriage to men

-No bearing their children

Women who initiated and propagate this movement feel that the world is unjust with them. Till the time this gender inequality persists, they will not have sex, date, marry men or give birth to their kids. They reject this patriarchal society structure.

Members of this movement

It is not known how many women are part of this movement. When the movement started, around 33k women had registered for the online platform. This might be an underestimate since many might not have registered but still might be part of it.

Since Trump’s win in the 2024 Presidential election, the movement has gone viral on TikTok. The party of Trump is against abortion and women in the USA feel that they will lose control of their body.

In South Korea, domestic violence against women was high at 41.5% as against the global average of 30%. In December 2016, the government posted online the National Birth Map that showed the number of women in each municipality who was in the reproductive age. This was an insult for women who thought that they were objectified as sex and reproduction symbol.

Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs researcher Jong-wook Won added fuel to this anger of women when he made a theory that said that birth rate of the country was low because women married into higher caste. He advised them to practice hypogamy and marry men of lower caste. The enraged women decided to opt out of this sex and marriage and childbirth issues once and for all. Thus 4B movement started.

This is not selfishness as mentioned and society tells about these women. It is a different thinking for a purpose.

Culture is unjust for women in India 

What members of this movement say?

Women who joined the movement are those concerned about gender inequality and those who fear risk of domestic violence. One such member said:

‘Practising [4B] means you’re eliminating the risks that come from heterosexual marriage or dating',

Women in the USA are planning to be part of this movement. Already, in the new age, women and men are having less sex. It may be due to multiple reasons such as digital technology, mental issues or rough sex. Whatever the reason, this movement would lead to further less birth rates in South Korea and elsewhere. In South Korea, it has shown a decline from 1.2 births per woman to current 0.72 births per woman.