The 4B Movement: Women swear off dating men after presidential election

In the wake of Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election, social media has seen a surge in women pushing for the adoption of South Korea's 4B Movement, which vows abstinence from relationships with men.

In the wake of Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election, social media has seen a surge in US women pushing for South Korea's 4B Movement. © Andrew Harnik / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

The movement has launched into the US mainstream in the week following Election Day as women grapple with .

While the president-elect has not committed to a , his Supreme Court picks paved the way for the overturning of Roe v. Wade – a point about which he has repeatedly bragged.

With female bodily autonomy hanging in the balance, some women have proposed the 4B Movement as something of a solution.

The movement takes its name from the Korean "Four Nos": dating, sex, marriage, and childbearing with men.

After November 5, the term "4B movement" surged on social media platforms like X and TikTok, with Google data also revealing it to be one of the top trending search terms on the engine.

As activist Baek Ga-eul told AFP, some women took the results as evidence "that men do not regard women as equals."

"How can women love, marry, or have children with men who so openly hate and disregard us?"

Trump's re-election sparks interest in 4B movement among US women Following the re-election of Trump, some women are looking to push back against the acceptance of the Republican – who was found liable for rape in a 2023 New York trial – by the men in their lives. © Seth Wenig / POOL / AFP

4B emerged in South Korea around the mid-2010s as a way for women to push back against rigid gender roles, sexual violence against women, and more.

Though still regarded as a fringe movement, the country has seen swiftly declining birth and marriage rates.

In the US, calls to adopt the movement after the election come amid a – particularly among Gen-Z – that has seen a significant number of men pull to the far right as women lean further left.

Following the re-election of Trump, some women are looking to push back against the acceptance of the Republican – who was in a 2023 New York trial – by the men in their lives.

"It's time for us to give back what we're getting," one woman told in a recent survey.

"I completely agree with the 4B movement. As a Gen Z woman, it's disheartening and disgusting to see so many Gen Z men comment, 'Your body, my choice,' which would essentially be rape."

But amid this push, the 2024 election still saw significant numbers of women turn out in favor of Trump. According to , 44% of women between the ages of 18 and 44 opted for the Republican, with 53% of all white women voting for him.