Many have already accused the movement of being anti-men and exclusive towards allies.
And amidst its popularization, many questions about the movement have sprung up.
Hes all for it and supports my decisions fully.
"‘Feminist’ is considered a derogatory term by most men and even [some] women,” says one Vietnamese American who lived in Korea for several years.JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images
Bi, meaning no, indicates the four nos that were their answer to systemic misogyny in South Korea.
While I was looking up information about deepfakes and feminism, I came across the 4B movement.
Nam joined soon after, and has since been keenly watching it spread internationally.
She says that shes far from the only one to experience sexism so early on.
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I did think I might consider marriage if I met a man I really liked, she says.
Non-4B participants in Korea are aware of the attacks women face on a daily basis.
South Korea has always been a very conservative country.
Even on a day-to-day basis, there is a sense of intrusion and lack of autonomy.
There is a huge spycam issue in South Korea, Nguyen says.
Spycams are prevalent in restrooms, hotels, AirBnbs, et cetera.
They were even found in elementary school restrooms.
Thats the kind of quiet distrust you feel around you as a woman living there.
At a systemic level, women are regularly asked about their plans forpregnancy and marriagein job interviews.
Divorce is seen as taboo, with the blame falling on the mother and prejudice against the children.
Hajin Cho, 31, was born in South Korea but moved to the U.S. when she was five.
Shes not actively part of 4B, but is sympathetic to the movement.
While I was living there, I wasnt necessarily engaged with the feminist movement, she says.
She ended up in a friends with benefits situation during the entirety of those six months.
Boy, oh boy, was it difficult, she says.
Often, he would criticize her style or mannerisms when he felt they werent feminine enough.
I felt some weird pressure to conform to those standards whenever we met.
Nguyen and Nam also recognize the omnipresent performance of gender.
For me to fight these disadvantages, the most effective way is to make men irrelevant from my life.
But it doesnt mean that the movement is widely accepted 4B is controversial even among women in the country.
Critics have called 4B a fringe movement, saying very few women actually participate.
Its also not exactly renowned.
The movement claimed to have just4,000 membersin 2019, while thesubredditstill only sits at 13,000 followers.
Regardless, Nam is happy to be part of 4B.
Its been freeing, Nam says, to focus on more important matters like higher education.
She doesnt spend time, money, or energy thinking about boys.
There wont be a one-size-fits-all method that works for every woman, she says.
