A life without men

Women’s revenge on Donald Trump’s election victory

No sex, no marriage, no children: the 4B movement is characterized by the radical exclusion of men.

(Bild: AFP)

A life without men? Many women in South Korea can well imagine it. They are tired of the inequality in their country and prefer to do without sex, marriage and children. Following Trump's election victory, a similar trend has emerged in the USA, known as the 4B movement.

One user's Tiktok video received around 1.8 million likes, in which she explains that she ended her relationship after Trump's election victory and is now joining the 4B movement. "I've done my part as an American woman by breaking up with my Republican boyfriend and am now officially part of the 4B movement," explains the young woman.

4B movement as a reaction to Trump's election victory
The 4B movement, which emerged in South Korea in the late 2010s, is increasingly gaining attention on social media - most recently in the USA due to Donald Trump's election victory. What initially appears radical is a reaction to deep-rooted social problems that encourages many women to stand up for their self-determination.

The movement is based on four principles, all of which begin with "bi" (no) in Korean: No to heterosexual men, No to straight marriages, No to childbirth and No to dating. It emerged in feminist online circles as a response to a femicide in which a man stabbed a woman to death because he "felt ignored by women".

Political polarization in South Korea
In South Korea, the birth rate is one of the lowest in the world, which is a key problem for the government. In 2016, it even published a map showing the number of women of childbearing age per district. Nevertheless, many South Korean women - even outside the 4B movement - do not want to have children.

South Korean women are under immense social pressure. According to a survey conducted in 2015, 80 percent of respondents - mostly women - experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. Furthermore, at 31.2 percent, the gender pay gap is higher in South Korea than in any other OECD country. South Korea ranks 94th out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum's "Global Gender Gap Index"; nowhere else are as many women murdered as there.

Almost two years ago, the Supreme Court overturned an almost 50-year-old decision that guaranteed a nationwide right to abortion. As a result, many conservative states have severely restricted access to abortion.

(Bild: AP)

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol openly positions himself in favor of anti-women policies and blames feminist movements for the country's economic problems. He plans to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality on the grounds that it treats men as "potential sexual offenders". With this controversial rhetoric, he was able to score points with young men in particular and win the election. This social polarization contributed significantly to the emergence of the 4B movement.

Radical resistance from women
However, the movement goes beyond the mere rejection of men. It aims to encourage women to create their own spaces and show solidarity with each other in order to form a counterweight to existing social structures.

Thanks to the internet, the movement's ideas also gained traction in the USA after Trump's election victory. Google searches for "4B" rose by 450% the day after the election. Many supporters see this as the ideal time to resist Trump's misogynistic policies.

Some are exacerbating the movement's original ideas: In the face of uncertain abortion rights, some are advising women to collectively undergo hysterectomies - that is, to be sterilized by having their wombs removed.

Boom in contraceptives in the USA
Since Trump's election victory, online providers have also seen a sharp rise in orders for the morning-after pill. According to reports, orders for the emergency contraceptive "Restart" rose by 966% within 60 hours of the election victory compared to the previous week - the majority of orders were bulk packs, as reported by American media.

Other contraceptives are also booming: appointment requests for the insertion of an IUD have risen by 760 percent. Requests for vasectomies have also increased by 1200 percent.

Almost two years ago, the US Supreme Court overturned the right to abortion that had been in force for almost 50 years, which was perceived as a political earthquake. By making several new appointments during his first term in office, Donald Trump shifted the majority of the court significantly to the right, making this decision possible.

It is now up to the states to decide on abortion rights, and in many of them abortions are now largely banned. Abortion advocates fear a further tightening of the laws as a result of Trump's imminent entry into the White House.