Relevant Issues
Will the South Korea 4B Movement Work in America?
“The women are the pawns of those Spartan dogs.
They have betrayed us and for no cause.
Without sex, what will happen to our great State?
Democracy will end if we can’t copulate.”
This is the Chorus of Men sung in Lysistrata, an ancient Greek comedy play that centers on a movement where women withhold sex to end the Peloponnesian War. While fictional, the play somewhat reflects current events in the US.
In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s re-election, many women have decided to adopt the South Korea 4B movement to protect their social and reproductive rights, to name a few.
However, the question is, will the movement work in the American scene?
4B Movement in South Korea
The movement centers on four principles (each starts with the prefix “bi”): no marriage (bi-hon), no dating (bi-yeonae), no childbirth (bi-chulsan), and no sex (bi-sex).
It began in the late 2010s as a response to gender inequality and violence against South Korean women. It grew in 2016 when a man brutally murdered a woman near a metro station in Gangnam, Seoul. The incident sparked outrage as the murderer confessed that he committed the crime because he felt ignored.
Months later, a feminist book titled Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, was published. It narrated the collective experiences of many South Korean women, which added to the movement’s numbers.
At present, many regard the 4B movement as contributing to the country’s declining birth rate. Other factors include economic insecurity, high cost of living, and societal trends.
So, is the 4B movement working?
In a sense, it is.
But just because it’s big in one country doesn’t mean that others who adopt it will achieve the same outcome.
For starters, South Korea and America are very different from each other.
4B Movement in America
As mentioned, American women are adopting the 4B movement in light of the Presidential election results. I’m not one to judge their choice.
If that’s what they want to follow regarding marriage, dating, sex, and reproduction, then they have the right to do so.
However, I’m quite concerned about how the movement is being practiced in the US, which begs the question of its impact.
The Simplification
Many American women treat it as a sex strike like in Lysistrata, which is just one part of the whole movement. Unfortunately, there has been no concrete evidence that sex strikes work.
One reason is that participating women who are in a relationship can only lobby their partners. Another is that it’s mostly good for publicity.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee says that sex sells. True enough, a sex strike she led stopped the second Liberian civil war.
However, Coco Khan of The Guardian says such movements in the West are often met with laughter. And if you read people’s opinions, especially men’s, about the 4B movement on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, you’ll find that they’re already treating it that way.
Dating Alternatives
The US is a melting pot of various cultures. With this, many are open to interracial dating and relationships.
Now, if American women were to withdraw from dating, marrying, having sex, and having children with American men, what would the latter be left with?
The answer: Seek alternatives.
They can find what they need from women in other countries. Trust me, many have already been doing that way before the 4B movement gained prominence in America.
What’s stopping many more men from going to another country, especially if it presents other benefits, like low living costs and better lifestyles?
As a result, the 4B movement impact in the US would be little to none.
A Hateful Purpose
The South Korea 4B movement is a lifestyle that promotes discussion to free women from the effects of their patriarchal society. It redirects men instead of rejecting them.
On the contrary, the 4B movement in America serves to get back at men. It invalidates true advocacy, which causes the latter to retaliate instead of being open to change.
Moreover, it doesn’t focus on women — the reason this movement exists in the first place. Instead of empowering women to accept the love they deserve, it teaches them to hate.
The call for respect and rights is valid. However, with the way it is now, it’s doubtful whether the South Korea 4B movement will have a huge impact in America. It might even be counterproductive.
E. Tammy Kim of The New Yorker quotes a line from the Chicago Women’s Liberation Union 1972 pamphlet, “Under certain circumstances, working with men is feasible, desirable, and necessary to achieve our vision.”
And I agree because a change of mindset is necessary to achieve the 4B movement’s desired outcome. This requires a conversation and an understanding of experiences, not growing hostility between both sexes.
References:
James, Arya. 2024. “The Book That Sparked the 4B Movement.” Medium. https://medium.com/fourth-wave/the-book-that-challenged-a-nation-and-sparked-the-4b-movement-219234b3e8ad.
Khan, Coco. 2022. “Do sex strikes ever work? We ask an expert.” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/nov/04/do-sex-strikes-ever-work-we-ask-an-expert.
Kim, E. Tammy. 2024. “The Rise of 4B in the Wake of Donald Trump’s Reelection.” The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-rise-of-4b-in-the-wake-of-donald-trumps-reelection.
