2024 has been a tumultuous year, to say the least, especially for US citizens. We watched as Republican politicians continued to launch attacks at abortion rights, Beyoncé made a successful bid for country stardom, Dune: Part II graced our screens, and former President Donald Trump pulled off a historic political comeback by becoming the 47th president of the United States. The backlash for the latest development was swift, especially from women, who turned to the 4B movement—a fringe feminist ideology from South Korea rejecting marriage, childbirth, dating, and sex with men. But while the defiance is loud, criticism has emerged, particularly toward white women leading the charge. Why? Because they played a key role in electing Trump in the first place.

This year’s presidential election had the issue of reproductive rights at its heart, so much so that Trump, who previously branded himself as staunchly pro-life, softened his stance on abortion, IVF and birth control.

Still, it wasn’t enough to calm the fears of many liberal women, who worry that a second Trump term would bring more restrictive measures. So, as a means of protest, they pledged themselves to the South Korean 4B movement. It entails the rejection of marriage, childbirth, dating and sex with men in protest of violence against women and pro-natalist policies (political initiatives aimed at making women have more children).

And unexpectedly, the 4B movement quickly became a symbol of resistance against the election of a known misogynist to the highest office in the country.

@realityreelclips

Lots of women have announced that they are joining the 4B movement, which encourages women to reject traditional roles and relationships with men, due to the results of the US election. #4b #4bmovement #4bmovementusa #news #presidentialelection #womenempowerment #womenssafety #womensupportingwomen

♬ LABOUR - the cacophony - Paris Paloma

@qxbre

Gas prices are rising again🤦‍♀️ #fyp #inflation #4bmovement #us #gasprices

♬ original sound - Sunshynelove21

@nikitadumptruck

After the election, searches for 4B went up 3000% in the US! But before we copy paste a movement into our culture, we got to know its roots, how and why it got started, and some of its cracks This is a long video so have it on the background or press the top right of ur screen for 2x speed

♬ original sound - 💗 Bimbo University 💗

However, in the aftermath of the election, voting data revealed that women of colour overwhelmingly supported Vice President Kamala Harris, while a majority of white women—52 per cent, to be exact—voted for Trump. Once again, the focus shifted. Could this outcome have been prevented not by men but by other women?

The Western surge of the 4B movement has faced its fair share of criticism. From the moment the movement took on a look—shaved heads, baggy clothes, and a bratty attitude—it was met with backlash. Women who suffer from cancer or alopecia spoke out, rejecting the idea that their appearance is now “man-repelling” and calling out the privilege of shaving one’s head voluntarily over political dissatisfaction.

@tallison03

EDIT: I DONT CARE ABOUT PEOPLE SHAVING THEIR HEAD I CARE ABOUT PEOPLE CALLIMG IT LESS ATTRACTIVE!! IM ALSO NOT TALKING ABOUT THE MOVEMENT AT A WHOLE IM TALKING ABOUT ONLY THE PEOPLE EQUATING IT TO BEING LESS ATTRACTIVE✨ There are so many young babies fighting this terrible disease hearing that they are unloveable because they dont have hair 😔 #cancerfighter #cancersucks #4b #4bmovement

♬ Can’t Catch Me Now - from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes - Olivia Rodrigo

@ellenjacksn

might be too political 🙏💯 #4B

♬ original sound - sv

@swayzejane

breaks my heart. #4bhair #4bmovement #hairloss #cancersucks #cancersurvivor #alopecia #cancerawareness

♬ som original - tehesongs

Then there’s the dramatic claim that women in the US are “losing their rights.” As TikTok creator Lara Napier pointed out:

“The actual 4B movement is going on in South Korea. Frankly, this makes a mockery of it (…). I’d ask any woman who’s taken part in this 4B movement to go over to experience what the women in South Korea are living through, to go to Iraq where the legal age of consent is going to be lowered to 9. Then please tell us what rights those women have, cause they are so privileged according to you.”

@laranapier

To any woman who has lost their hair just know you’re beautiful #fyp #4bmovement #4bhair #feminism #privelege #usa #america #alopecia #cancer #states #trump #kamalaharris

♬ original sound - Lara 🤍☁️ - UGC

At the heart of the frustration lies the glaring fact that the majority of white women continue to support Trump, just as they did in 2020 and 2016. It reveals a stark racial divide in voting behaviour, a gap many young women of colour have been publicly calling out.

@angelagetsanswers

Former president, Donald Trump wins of the White House thanks to Latino men and white women #greenscreen #trump #donaldtrump #president @President Donald J Trump

♬ original sound - #angelabrownews

@sofiafaini

ELECTION DAY!!!! #maga #electionday #trump2024 #hotgirlsvotetrump #fyp #foryou

♬ original sound - Testing You

It raised questions of whether the “fault” for the election outcome could thus be placed with men, considering that multiple women also made the decision to vote for a candidate who was held liable for sexual abuse and racial discrimination.

And while this movement has become a refuge for women tired of toxic men, it has started to feel like a tool for white women to direct their rage at men and avoid the necessary discourse with each other.

At the end of the day, people are slowly beginning to recognise a disconnect with 4B in the West. This movement that claims to reject a patriarchal system lacks credibility because its loudest voices are part of the demographic most responsible for upholding it. It’s constitutive to central privileges they aren’t able to recognise.

The truth is that women aren’t a monolith, we’re not all fighting the same fight. So it’s easy to point the finger at men, but harder to recognise how we are tangled up in each other’s oppressions, frequently undermining the very ‘sisterhood’ we like to preach—I’m looking at you, 52 per cent of white women.

If liberal women in the US really want to dismantle harmful systems, the conversation has to shift away from men, because it lets their mothers, aunts, girlfriends, and cousins who helped put a known misogynist back into office off the hook. Until they can grapple with the immense privileges they hold and their roles in perpetuating oppressive systems, this movement risks becoming just another feminist performance—all buzz and no bite.