I need people to stop glorifying the 4B movement in Korea, from a Western (white) perspective. Stop it.
If you are blissfully unaware of this (having not been on TikTok) - in theory, it makes sense.
No sex with men, no dating men, no child rearing with men, and no marriage with men.
But. BUT.
Feminists in Korea are problematic AF. I know this from both personal experience (having been on the receiving end of their ire online) and everything I've read about them, in Korean.
I see all these white TikTokers (and even some in the Korean diaspora) fawning over how "we" in the US need this and, no.
If your feminism is transphobic, hates gay men, hates men in general, that's not the feminism I'd endorse.
Why is Korean feminism transphobic? In 2020, Korean feminists ACTIVELY CAMPAIGNED AGAINST a woman who was accepted to Sookmyung University. An all womens' university.
But she was a woman, you say. What could be their problem?
According to Korean feminists, they didn't want a "man" in their space.
Because she is a trans woman.
This is not unusual for Korean feminists.
Having lived there for 5 years, to some extent, I understand their anger against misogyny. But if you are truly against the toxic patriarchy that exists in Korea, you must also help dismantle military conscription because that is where a lot of men become radicalized, bullied, etc etc and "grow up" to be the most toxic form of men seen on this earth.
But Korean feminists don't give AF about that and in fact, I've read a lot of them express that it's good for men to suffer.
Guess what? That view is internalized misogyny and toxic patriarchy, too.
And I don't want to hear it about the movement being so "young". Korean women have stepped up to the plate before in our history. We are capable of better than this fucking nonsense. It's a bunch of transphobic, gay hating radicals that have hijacked what was supposed to be about social justice.
WOMAD (link is to the Wikipedia article, not their site) and Megalia are the two sites they stem from. It is the most toxic group of people I've ever had the displeasure to encounter online. Any form of criticism is, at best, ignored and worst - I've been "called out" for being Korean-American, and therefore, to "butt out" of "Korean issues". Amongst other bullying I've personally received. And yes, not just on forums but on public articles that I've commented on.
