Realities
4B Movement: Is It Too Much of a Good Thing?
With millions of views on TikTok and viral X posts, the 4B movement is generating tremendous interest in the US.
In light of my previous article explaining the purpose of the 4B Movement and its societal goals, it goes without saying that this movement is also facing a lot of backlash.
In some places, especially in South Korea where the feminist movement started, it faces a lot of criticism, and the situation is growing more complicated.
In fact, according to a recent Rolling Stone article, critics have labeled 4B as a narrow movement, with few women participating. Other feminists have also attacked the movement for promoting a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical) brand of feminism for being homophobic and transphobic.
With that said, let’s break down what the critics have to say about this movement and what we can learn from it as well.
The Downside of the 4B Movement
As with everything that appears positive, there are drawbacks. The goal of having absolute freedom and agency for women, while great, comes with the following negative consequences:
Low Fertility Rate
With the lowest fertility rate in the world, South Korea is dealing with a complicated demographic crisis whilst being in the midst of a fierce gender war where marriage and raising children have taken on political significance.
According to data from the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, South Korea’s overall fertility rate hit 0.72 in 2023. It is expected to fall below 0.7 in 2024. There is a sense of national crisis as a result of the recent fertility decline’s unprecedented magnitude and speed, which has brought the country to its lowest level yet.
When birth rates drop, the population gradually begins to shrink. This results in fewer workers, higher healthcare costs, and economic stagnation.
Potential for a TERF Movement
South Korean feminists who identify as queer or trans are worried that the revival of 4B’s messaging may encourage more anti-trans discourse and possibly even a comeback of the South Korea 4B movement.
In South Korea, the movement took a regressive turn, with women demanding an end to violence against women and then beginning to police the boundaries of who can do so. When you keep reinforcing the gender binary, it inevitably hurts queer and trans people.
Given the difficulties a Trump presidency presents for LGBTQ+ people, critics fear that the 4B movement’s flame in the US may somehow reignite and feed its most regressive aspects.
Encouragement of Hostile Environments
Unfortunately, there is a risk to one’s life associated with being an open feminist. An instance of this occurred when a man in Jinju, South Korea, punched and kicked a convenience store employee because he thought she was a feminist due to her short hair.
According to the police, he even allegedly told her that he was a male chauvinist and that feminists should be attacked. A number of misogynistic critics in South Korea have also attacked women with short hair, accusing them of misandry and tying the hairstyle to feminism.
In 2021, an Olympic archer with multiple gold medals from the Tokyo Games to her name was subjected to a barrage of online criticism for having short hair. Women responded by supporting the athlete by flaunting their short hairstyles in a viral campaign.
The digital environment of South Korea has a significant impact on the manifestation of the 4B movement. Since the movement’s most recent spark online, it’s become nearly impossible to gauge its actual impact.
It’s crucial to remember, though, that the movement constitutes both a threat to the nation’s democratic security and a response to its severe demographic crisis. The country’s deeply ingrained patriarchal institutions and beliefs, however, are the root cause of this demographic insecurity.
Given that most Korean women have said “enough,” I fear that unless South Korea takes concrete steps to change the way men perceive women, their patriarchal strategy for addressing demographic security still won’t be as effective as they would like.
References:
Cao, S. (2024). “Here’s What Korean Women Think of the 4B Movement Spreading to the U.S.” Rolling Stone.
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/4b-korean-women-movement-u-s-1235164807/
Lim, S. (2024). “The Necessary Paradigm Shift for South Korea’s Ultra-Low Fertility.” gjia.georgetown.edu.
https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2024/09/24/the-necessary-paradigm-shift-for-south-koreas-ultra-low-fertility/#:~:text=Several%20developed%20countries%20have%20experienced,policy%20administration%2C%20and%20poor%20planning.
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