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Why Trump’s win has sparked a ‘4B feminist movement’ with roots in S Korea

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Why Trump’s win has sparked a ‘4B feminist movement’ with roots in S Korea

A feminist movement sweeping South Korea, in which women are saying “No” to any form of intimate relationships with men, is taking hold in the United States following former President Donald Trump’s resounding victory in the presidential election.

So what is the 4B movement and why are American women turning to it now?

What is the 4B movement?

The 4B movement originally emerged from the fringes of the South Korean feminist movement.

It developed in South Korean feminist circles and on social media in the mid-to-late 2010s during a wave of violence against women in the country, and in protest over other manifestations of sexism and inequality in South Korean society.

4B is shorthand for four words that start with “bi”, which means “no” in Korean.

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The movement calls for:

  • Bihon, which means no heterosexual marriage.
  • Bichulsan, no childbirth.
  • Biyeonae, no dating.
  • Bisekseu, no heterosexual sexual relationships.

Why did this movement emerge in South Korea?

Women are fed up with the scale of male violence in South Korean society.

A report published in 2018 showed that in the previous nine years, at least 824 women in South Korea had been killed and a further 602 were put at risk of death by violence at the hands of their intimate partners.

But there are also economic factors.

According to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), South Korean men earn 31.2 percent more, on average, than women.

South Korean society also tends to be fairly conservative when it comes to families.

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Ayo Wahlberg, a professor in the anthropology department at the University of Copenhagen, told Al Jazeera that the responsibility for the bulk of childcare and household chores, as well as taking care of the elderly, generally falls on the shoulders of women. But, with rising inflation, women also have little choice but to work outside of the home, meaning their responsibilities are doubled.

This has led to more women forgoing the prospect of having children while also making less money than their male spouses – a situation many say they find disheartening.

Meanwhile, the birthrate in South Korea continues to drop rapidly. In recent years, the country has had one of the lowest birthrates in the world. In February this year, Statistics Korea published data showing that the overall birthrate had dropped by 8 percent in 2023 to 0.72 children per woman in their lifetime compared with 0.78 in 2022.  The low birthrate has been declared a national emergency.

‘Your body, my choice’: Why is the movement gathering interest in the US now?

Soon after it had become apparent that Trump had won the US presidential election this week, young women in the US took to social media platforms such as TikTok and X, encouraging other women to take inspiration from the 4B movement.

While CNN’s exit poll suggested that Trump won 46 percent of the women’s vote and Harris won 54 percent, it also showed that Harris had won just 43.5 percent of the male vote compared with Trump’s 56.5 percent.

Young women on social media said they were disappointed that young men had voted for a candidate who they say does not respect their bodily autonomy.

To make matters worse, some Trump supporters, such as far-right political activist Nick Fuentes, started posting misogynistic messages on X such as the statement, “Your body, my choice.”

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@_jessie_fitz You make us do, too much labour! #fyp #foryoupageofficiall #kamalaharris2024🇺🇸💙 #werenotgoingback #labour #womensupportingwomen #womensempowerment #4bmovement #fthepatriarchy #patriarchy #mysogyny ♬ labour – Paris Paloma

The message is a co-optation of “my body, my choice” a slogan used historically by feminists rallying for autonomy and reproductive rights.

How significant a role did women’s rights play in the US election?

The right to abortion was a major talking point in the lead-up to the election.

While the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, was banking on abortion being a big issue, it turned out to be much less of a decisive issue for voters than economic issues such as inflation, unemployment and the cost of living.

The election was the first presidential vote since the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade court ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022, ending women’s federal right to an abortion in the US. The decision on laws regarding abortion was reverted to individual states instead.

Trump claimed credit for the overturning of Roe v Wade, which was made possible by his appointments of three conservative judges to the top court.

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Democrats campaigned in the belief that this would bring women out to vote for Harris. That position did not pay off entirely, however.

On Tuesday this week, as the election was in full swing, 10 states also voted on whether or not to enshrine the right to abortion in their constitutions. Of these, seven states passed the measures and three states did not.

What could happen to abortion once Trump is in power?

Trump has said that he would veto a federal abortion bill, preferring to leave the question of laws regarding the right to abortion down to individual states to decide.

However, fears now loom among women’s rights groups that he will be pressured by Republicans, who now control the Senate and the Supreme Court – and are close to controlling the House of Representatives as well – into making a federal abortion ban across the US a reality.

There are also fears that Trump’s administration could have the power to enforce an interpretation of the 1873 Comstock Act, which makes it a federal crime to sell and receive abortion-related medication or other materials. The law has not been enforced for decades.

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Why are women so angry about Trump’s attitude towards them?

Many say Trump reveals a great deal about his general view of women through the comments he has made over the years.

Sexual abuse allegations

In May 2023, a US jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing journalist and author E Jean Carroll in the 1990s. Carroll had detailed the abuse in a memoir in 2019, after which Trump branded her a liar and called her story a “con job”. The court also found that he had defamed her and ordered him to pay damages of more than $83m.

In 2018, veteran journalist Bob Woodward wrote in his book, Fear: Trump in the White House, about a conversation between Trump and an unnamed friend of his, acknowledging bad behaviour towards women.

Trump was quoted saying: “You’ve got to deny, deny, deny and push back on these women. If you admit to anything and any culpability, then you’re dead … You’ve got to be strong. You’ve got to be aggressive. You’ve got to push back hard. You’ve got to deny anything that’s said about you. Never admit.”

Disparaging comments about Kamala Harris

Trump has made many controversial remarks about women, including his Democrat challenger and Vice President Kamala Harris.

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After Harris inherited the Democrat presidential candidate ticket from Joe Biden earlier this year, Trump told Fox News, “[Harris] somehow – a woman – somehow she’s doing better than [President Joe Biden] did.”

He repeatedly attacked Harris’s intelligence, calling her “stupid” and “dumb” on various occasions.

Other controversial remarks

In June 2004, he said about his daughter, Ivanka Trump, “She does have a very nice figure … if [she] weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.” Ivanka was 23 or 24 at the time.

Earlier, soon after Princess Diana’s death in 1997, Trump told television personality Howard Stern in a radio interview that Diana was “beautiful” but “crazy”.

Stern asked Trump if he could have had a sexual relationship with Diana.

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“I think I could have,” Trump replied, the Huffington Post reported.

And according to tapes that The Washington Post said it obtained from 2005, Trump admitted to sexual assault in a conversation with TV host Billy Bush, about women in general: “I’m automatically attracted to beautiful – I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”

‘Childless cat lady’ comments

His Republican aides, including running mate JD Vance, have also made remarks deemed sexist. In July, comments Vance made about leaders in the Democratic Party in 2021 resurfaced. He said that the leaders of the party did not have children and were “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too”.

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‘Criminal Minds’ Star Paget Brewster Tells TV Journalist to ‘Work at a Shelter’ After Mixed Review, Sparking Outrage From Other Critics

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‘Criminal Minds’ Star Paget Brewster Tells TV Journalist to ‘Work at a Shelter’ After Mixed Review, Sparking Outrage From Other Critics

“Criminal Minds” star Paget Brewster lashed out at ScreenRant staffer Shealyn Scott over X on Saturday afternoon for her story lamenting the changes Paramount+ has brought to the long-running procedural drama.

“Hello critic Shealynn Scott,” Brewster wrote in the since-deleted post. “You’re young. You don’t know that bad pics and bad reviews can lead to 350 people losing their jobs. Sell vintage. Work at a shelter. Do something better than what you do now. Because right now you suck.”

Film and TV critics were quick to hit back in the replies. David Rooney, chief film critic at The Hollywood Reporter, wrote in his response to Brewster, “This is a very bad look. An actor on a long-running show attacking a young reviewer who contextualizes her respectful criticisms with obvious knowledge of the material — says way more about u being thin-skinned than it does about her professionalism. ‘Work at a shelter,’ really?!”

Senior ScreenRant writer Andy Behbakht also came to the defense of Scott, writing, “This is disgusting behavior on your part, and really tragic to see you tearing down a young female journalist whom you are literally telling that she ‘sucks’ and that she shouldn’t be in the field that she is in. I stand by my colleague, and you owe her an apology.”

Brewster released an apology for the post on Sunday. She wrote on X, “Hi guys, I was mean to Shealyn Scott last night and I profoundly regret it. Shame on me for insulting a human being for doing their job. I’m very sorry, Shealyn. And I’m sorry to those who follow me that you saw me behave like that. Turns out, last night, I sucked.”

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“Criminal Minds” premiered its 15th and final season on CBS in 2020, and then was revived for Paramount+ in 2022 under the title “Criminal Minds: Evolution.” Scott’s piece discussed the changes “Criminal Minds” underwent when it went from linear to streaming.

“From details as small as a ratings change to TV-MA— which allows David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) and Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) the occasional heated expletive— to new main cast members like Tyler Green (Ryan-James Hatanaka), there’s no doubt that ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ has its own unique identity,” Scott wrote in her story. “Plenty of the continuation’s changes have been received warmly, and ‘Criminal Minds’ unquestionably still works as a gripping crime drama, but there are just as many tweaks that feel more like downgrades— including the new 10-episode season structure. Though logical in theory, the shortened seasons are unfortunately working against ‘Criminal Minds’’ greatest strengths.”

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Meloni’s spat with Trump is calculated strategy to boost her approval ratings: expert

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Meloni’s spat with Trump is calculated strategy to boost her approval ratings: expert

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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s escalating feud with President Donald Trump is nothing but a calculated political strategy aimed at boosting her standing at home, a leading Italian political analyst told Fox News Digital on Sunday.

After the row between Trump and Meloni escalated on June 20, analysts also said the Italian leader may see little downside in confronting Trump, particularly as she faces declining approval ratings ahead of Italy’s 2027 general election.

The diplomatic dispute had reached a boiling point after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced June 19 that he was scrapping a trip to Washington, where he had been scheduled to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“Giorgia Meloni must have calculated that a public row with Trump yields no tangible consequences, other than an increase in her domestic and international standing,” Mattia Diletti, a political science lecturer at Sapienza University of Rome, said.

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TRUMP SAYS MELONI ‘WANTS TO BE FRIENDS AGAIN’ AFTER ITALY REFUSED TO HELP US AMID IRAN WAR

Giorgia Meloni said President Trump’s statements were “completely made up” and that “neither I nor Italy ever beg.” (Mandel NGAN / POOL / AFP via Getty Images; Bastien Ohier / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images))

Giovanni Orsina, a political scientist at Rome’s Luiss University, also told the Financial Times that the row would offer a “positive image” for Meloni and a “silver lining” to a confrontation she had “desperately tried to avoid.”

The friction between Trump and Meloni intensified after an interview broadcast by Italy’s La7 television network, where the president claimed she had asked for a photograph with him at the G7 summit and that he agreed only out of pity.

“She begged me to take a picture with her,” Trump said. “She wanted a picture with me so badly. I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her.”

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RUBIO MEETS MELONI AS TRUMP–POPE CLASH CLASH ESCALATES US STRAINS WITH KEY EUROPEAN ALLY

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends her annual press conference in Rome on Jan. 9, 2026, addressing government priorities and policy challenges for the year ahead. (Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)

Meloni fired back, releasing a video statement on X rejecting the president’s narrative.

“I am frankly stunned,” Meloni said in the video message. “I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way toward his own allies. But there’s one thing he must remember: Neither I nor Italy ever beg.”

Trump doubled down on Truth Social and tied the row directly to Meloni’s political fortunes.

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“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America… when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a nuclear weapon … She wouldn’t even let us use Italy’s landing strips or runways, a great logistical inconvenience … Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up.’ No thanks!!!”

Within hours, Meloni responded on social media: “As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has not helped it … My popularity depends on my ability to defend Italy’s national interest… In any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.”

TRUMP ‘RIGHT TO BE OUTRAGED’ BY EUROPE’S BETRAYAL ON IRAN, SAYS FORMER THATCHER ADVISOR

Rubio will travel to Italy on Wednesday for meetings with Pope Leo and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. (Maria Grazia Picciarella/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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The back-and-forth marks a reversal for two leaders who once enjoyed a close political alignment.

When Meloni first came to power, she positioned herself as a bridge between Washington and Brussels while pushing ties with Trump based on shared nationalism and stances on immigration.

“Politically, Trump has favored Meloni,” Diletti noted, pointing out that she had previously visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in 2025. She was the only European Union leader to attend his second inauguration.

The cracks also appeared in April when Trump criticized Meloni for siding with Pope Leo XIV’s condemnation of the U.S. conflict with Iran.

On Sunday, Trump also criticized Italy and Giorgia Meloni over their approach to Iran, accusing the NATO ally of failing to help confront Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

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“As the 2027 Italian general election approaches, Meloni is facing a decline in approval ratings for the first time,” Diletti explained.

“The opportunity to counter a President so unpopular in Europe and Italy helps bolster her approval ratings and allows her to build European solidarity,” he claimed.

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Mourners gather to remember Lebanese conservationist killed by Israel

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Mourners gather to remember Lebanese conservationist killed by Israel

Renowned turtle conservationist Mona Khalil had been wounded in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon.

Mourners have gathered in Beirut to pay their respects to a much-loved Lebanese conservationist who died from wounds caused by an Israeli strike on her home on the country’s southern coast.

Mona Khalil, 77, who spent more than two decades protecting sea turtles along Lebanon’s coastline, was critically injured in the attack in the village of al-Mansouri in Tyre province on June 4 and succumbed to her wounds more than two weeks later, on Friday.

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News of her death triggered an outpouring of grief among environmentalists and those who volunteered and worked with her over the years, many of whom gathered in Beirut on Sunday.

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The Orange House Project, which Khalil helped build into a small conservation hub and ecotourism site in al-Mansouri, became a refuge for endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles and a training ground for volunteers documenting nesting activity along the coast.

Khalil was born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1949. She held Dutch as well as Lebanese citizenship, having lived in the Netherlands before returning to Lebanon and settling in what had once been her grandmother’s home – the building that would later become known as the Orange House.

At the heart of Khalil’s work was a narrow stretch of coastline, al-Mansouri beach, where a fleeting encounter with a turtle that had emerged from the ocean to lay its eggs in 1999 propelled her on a lifelong journey devoted to animals.

Each nesting season, Khalil and volunteers would patrol the beach at night, marking fresh tracks in the sand and carefully relocating vulnerable nests away from human activity and coastal light pollution.

Journalist and environmental activist Fadia Jomaa first met Khalil in 2016 while researching sea turtles in Lebanon and then decided to volunteer with her project.

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During the previous war between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in 2024, Khalil initially refused to leave al-Mansouri beach, Jomaa said. The Lebanese army ultimately persuaded her to evacuate for her safety.

“She was the last one to leave the area,” Jomaa noted.

“She had an awful time in Beirut,” the journalist said, adding that Khalil longed to return to the south, to the Orange House and the beach she had spent years protecting.

“She used to say, ‘My soul will stay here,’” Jomaa said, recalling conversations in which Khalil would point to an olive tree or a small hill overlooking al-Mansouri beach. “She used to say, ‘This is where you will bury me.’”

Where Khalil will ultimately be buried remains uncertain and is tied to the security situation in the area, Jomaa said.

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