A lady was murdered in the South Korean capital of Seoul in 2016. The killer used to feel that he was being neglected by women! Hence, he started hating women and killed the lady. The incident triggered the 4B Movement in the Asia Pacific nation. The 4B Movement is basically a radical feminist campaign where the B stands for the Korean word Bi, meaning no, essentially advocating for no dating (Biyeonae), no marriage (Bihon), no childbirth (Bichulsan) and no sex (Bisekseu) with men, as a protest against pervasive gender inequality and violence against women in South Korea.

Interestingly, the movement gained significant global attention, especially after the 2024 US Presidential Election. It may be noted that the return of Donald John Trump to the White House has disappointed many US women. The majority of them are of the opinion that it is not their duty to maintain relationships with men who back a President who openly advocates for control over female bodies.

The 4B Movement recalls the demands of the second wave of the Feminist Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. One of the famous slogans of the Feminist Movement was The Personal is Political. Although the concerned authorities made an attempt to portray issues, such as sexual harassment, the relationships between superiors and subordinates at workplaces, Right to Abortion, etc., as personal problems; the feminists claimed that roots of these problems lie in the systematic political interference in social structures.

In her 1970 publication Sexual Politics, Kate Millett mentioned that patriarchy survives by controlling bodies and desires of women through sex (or sexuality). In the process of Sexual Politics, sexuality is not just a physical experience, but a part of a socio-political structure where roles of gender are controlled by patriarchal power. According to Millett, the patriarchal system controls reproductive power (of women) in order to influence the social structure. Most importantly, sexual relations and gender roles are part of this power equation. The author explained that patriarchy, with the help of family, religion, society and government, uses sexuality, as well as gender relations, to influence the social structure.

A divisive gender politics influenced the 2024 US Presidential Election, as the Republicans openly stressed on male identity and authority during the campaign. In 2022, the US Supreme Court eliminated the Federal Right to Abortion, placing the Right to Abortion under the control of states. The move is considered as an attack on Fundamental Rights of women. The role of President Trump and other Republican leaders was extremely negative in this regard. Hence, the Right to Abortion became an important issue during the Presidential Election. According to political analysts, women consider (the majority of) men’s support for Trump as an indirect manifestation of patriarchal hegemonic mentality. Therefore, women have started staging protests against the Trump Administration.

Protesters have urged married women and mothers to join the movement. They have also stopped purchasing items from retail stores run by men and decided not to socialise with their male colleagues at workplaces. Protesters have further formed small social media groups to exchange views as they want to spread the movement beyond social media. However, they do not have any grudges against men as their movement is aimed at ensuring the well-being of women.

There is an increase in incidents related to violence against women and gender discrimination in changing socio-economic circumstances. In such a scenario, marriage, childbirth and raising children have become problematic for women. It is because the balance of power in relationships is tilted towards men in most cases. Hence, many US women, who want to be single mothers, are in favour of financial self-reliance. It seems that the condition of women is somewhat similar in the US, India, South Korea, Iran and elsewhere. The rules (for women) are explicit in some countries, while they are unwritten in other parts of the world.

Many younger generation men in the US believe that feminism is not about gender equality in the contemporary world, but about misandry! As per a latest survey, 45% of young men in the US believe that they are discriminated against in society only because of their gender identity and their problems are ignored. They have blamed women for their social isolation, stressing that women have become significantly more liberal, prompting men to become more conservative! According to a 2022 survey, only 32% of men thought that the denial of Right to Abortion was an attack on Women’s Rights in the US. President Trump took full advantage of this situation and portrayed women as second-class citizens ahead of the election. One can consider Trump’s blatant misogyny as a part of larger gender politics.

It may be noted that a number of women voted for Trump. Political analysts have opined that the roots of patriarchy and misogyny lie within society itself. One can find the manifestation of patriarchy in the process of raising male children, and women play an important role in this process. A large section of young men suffers from isolation, loneliness, anxiety and fear as they have not learned to express their emotions. Although they have always believed that they are superior, some of them fail to perform well (compared to women) in different fields, in reality. Hence, they have become confused, as well as frustrated. As expected, politicians have made no attempt to resolve this sensitive social issue.

There is no immediate solution to this problem as the majority of women have decided not to maintain close relationships with men. Now, men have to analyse equality, equal rights, freedom, socio-economic structure and their impact on people regardless of gender from the perspective of feminism. Otherwise, the Rightists would get an opportunity to prove that all the feminists are misandrists.

The concentration of power would lie in the patriarchal structure, if the global community fails to deal with Women’s Rights in the context of Human Rights. Men have never had to fight for their rights because of their gender identity. From an individual’s perspective, a right is considered something one is entitled to; while from a social perspective, that same right becomes a duty for others in society to respect and uphold. It becomes necessary for the patriarchy to realise the fact that the scope of individual rights is limited and bounded by a sense of duty to all others, regardless of gender.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das