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In News: The 4B movement, a radical feminist current originating in South Korea, has resurfaced in public discourse amid renewed debates on patriarchy, gender-based violence, declining fertility, and women’s autonomy across societies.

What is the 4B Movement?

The 4B movement is a feminist resistance framework in which women collectively reject four institutions seen as pillars of patriarchal control:

• No Marriage
• No Childbirth
• No Dating
• No Sex (with men)

It is not merely a personal lifestyle choice but a deliberate political stance against traditional heterosexual norms and gendered expectations imposed on women.

Origin and Background

• Country: South Korea
• Period: Late 2010s
• Emerged in response to:
• Deep-rooted gender inequality
• Online misogyny and harassment
• High-profile cases of sexual violence
• Institutional indifference to women’s safety and rights
• Gained traction during the #MeToo movement in South Korea through online feminist platforms.

Key Features of the Movement

1. Radical Non-Engagement

• Rejects negotiation or reform within patriarchal institutions.
• Views marriage, reproduction, and heterosexual relationships as structurally unequal.

2. Rejection of Gendered Labour

• Opposes expectations of:
• Unpaid care work
• Emotional labour
• Sacrificial motherhood
• Challenges the idea that women must sustain family and demographic systems.

3. Bodily Autonomy

• Central emphasis on:
• Consent
• Sexual self-determination
• Control over reproductive choices

4. Collective Resistance

• Frames abstention as collective political action, not individual withdrawal.
• Counters the narrative that women must “adjust” or “cope” within oppressive systems.

Significance

Social Significance

• Questions the assumption that marriage and motherhood define womanhood.
• Exposes how structural misogyny, not isolated incidents, shapes women’s lived realities.

Political Significance

• Reframes refusal and withdrawal as legitimate forms of political agency.
• Forces states to confront links between:
• Gender injustice
• Declining fertility rates
• Social alienation

Global Relevance

• Sparks debates worldwide on:
• Feminism and demographic transitions
• Gender justice and social norms
• Autonomy vs societal expectations
• Resonates in societies facing:
• Rising gender violence
• Declining marriage and birth rates
• Women’s disenchantment with traditional institutions

Criticism and Debates

• Critics argue it may:
• Reinforce social polarisation
• Limit dialogue between genders
• Supporters contend:
• It is a symptom, not the cause, of systemic gender injustice
• True reform requires structural change, not moral appeals to women