Young women shelve dating to protest Trump's presidency win
Young American women announce on social media that they will not date men. This is their way of expressing opposition to Donald Trump potentially becoming the President of the United States again, given his past misogynistic behavior.
7:19 AM EST, November 8, 2024
Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris and will become the 47th President of the United States. Many young women online expressed their concern over the election results. As a form of protest, some posted videos on TikTok, stating that they would not be going on dates with men now. On Wednesday, November 6, 2024, searches for "4B" on Google increased by 450%. The "4B" movement originated in South Korea. What does its name refer to?
"It's devastating that we are at this point"
Twenty-four-year-old McKenna lives in one of America's conservative states. As reported by "The Guardian," she recently returned to dating apps and had scheduled two meetings with men she met there. However, McKenna canceled the dates after Donald Trump won the presidential election.
"It's heartbreaking that in this country you only matter if you're a heterosexual white man. It's devastating that we are at this point. That's why I won't let another man touch me until I get my rights back," emphasized the 24-year-old, as quoted by the British newspaper.
McKenna is not the only American woman interested in the "4B" movement, as evidenced by videos posted by many other women on TikTok.
"Girls it's time to boycott all men! You lost your rights, and they lost the right to hit raw! 4b movement starts now!" informed one creator on TikTok in a video viewed 3.4 million times.
American women protest online. The "4B" movement began a few years earlier
The first actions related to the "4B" movement were recorded in 2018. Citizens of South Korea protested, mainly online, vowing not to date, have sex, marry, or have children. This was their way of opposing institutionalized misogyny and abuses.
Korean women also protested against omnipresent spy cameras used mainly by men to record women during intercourse or, for instance, using public restrooms, of course, without their consent.
"These videos were sold and exchanged by men on Discord, and women didn’t know how many men had taken part, and if any of the men in their lives had. There was a general sense of, ‘Who can I trust? And before I regain my trust in men, I need to refrain from contact with them," said Min Joo Lee, an assistant professor of Asian Studies at Occidental College, as quoted by theguardian.com.
