Following the re-election of Donald Trump, this women’s movement that began in Korea is now talk of the town among American women

The Philippines, while considered by some scholars a matriarchal country and a leader in regional and global gender parity, still suffers from strains of misogyny, historically imported by colonial powers and presently maintained by the realities of a globalized economy.

Following the re-election of Donald Trump as president in the United States’ 2024 elections, analysts have noted that the vote for Trump was a vote representative of a set of values, ideologies, and yes, policies that included hyper masculinity, which often carries with it misogyny.

It was essentially a pushback against a culturally and politically progressive era that defined the late 2000s and 2010s: fourth-wave feminism, #MeToo, and the movement to protect the Roe vs. Wade decision (abortion rights, women’s bodily autonomy).

Following the re-election of Donald Trump as president in the United States’ 2024 elections, analysts have noted that the vote for Trump was a vote representative of a set of values, ideologies, and yes, policies that included hyper masculinity, which often carries with it misogyny

It doesn’t help that over the years, far-right pundits and influencers were silently mobilizing young men in the United States to support ideologies proclaiming to protect “traditional values” (that were largely misogynistic, bigoted, and anti-progressive) and to “make America great again.”

Amid such a context, American women online have resonated with calls to apply the 4B movement.

Originally from South Korea, also dealing with ossified cultural and institutionalized misogyny, said “B’s” refer to bi, “no,” in Korean: No dating men (biyeonae), no sex with men (bisekseu), no heterosexual marriage (bihon), and no childbirth (bichulsan).

You might think this is a tad too extra until you recall that Korea’s current president won on a platform of anti-feminism (which resonated strongly with Korean men). He vowed to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality, which currently has no minister. A proposal to abolish it re-emerged earlier this year. Thankfully, however, his administration is currently unpopular.

Nonetheless, the youth gender divide in South Korea needs a reckoning. It’s a heady mix where economic development outpaced the evolution of values and norms. Out of many developed nations, South Korea lags behind starkly in gender equity.

“Given the dire situation in South Korea—including a notably high suicide rate among women in their 20s—the 4B movement isn’t coming from a playful or flippant place,” writes Rachel Treisman for NPR, paraphrasing University of California Los Angeles gender studies professor Ju Hui Han, who also specializes in Korean studies.

Despite the veneer of a matriarchal society, as late as 2022, one in four Filipinas have experienced a form of gender-based violence. Due to cultural attitudes and norms, such as machismo, 41 percent of these victims do not seek help, reports the Lancet

“It’s not a church, it’s not a cult. It’s more: a state of mind and a set of priorities,” Han told NPR. “It’s about women recognizing that they’re in a collective struggle, that there’s a collective sense of frustration. This is about American women trying to find sources of leverage that can make them feel like they have some agency in these dire times.”

The decision to overrule Roe vs. Wade in full was a major setback for women’s rights in 2022. Immediately after Trump won 2024, far-right influencers and their followers began spamming women’s social media accounts with the phrase “your body, our choice.”

As Trump builds his cabinet prior to assuming office in late January 2025, it remains to be seen how things will actually play out. Nonetheless, like in South Korea, the US cultural and gender divide continues to bear a weight that may sway policy.

While we do draw cultural inspiration from the US and South Korea, is the state of misogyny in the Philippines as bad here? | Photo from Getty Images/Unsplash+

What does all this mean for Filipina women? While we do draw cultural inspiration from the US and South Korea, is the state of misogyny in the Philippines as bad here?

Despite the veneer of a matriarchal society, as late as 2022, one in four Filipinas have experienced a form of gender-based violence. Due to cultural attitudes and norms, such as machismo, 41 percent of these victims do not seek help, reports the Lancet.

Echoing the above, Filipina PhD teacher and researcher from the University of Auckland Leal Rodriguez, tells Lifestyle.INQ over messenger app: “Men have systematically been given privilege. Having that privilege challenged by progress can be seen as a threat. We see this with the men who voted [for] Donald Trump, who feel threatened by change and the loss of their privilege.”

“Duterte is the closest political parallel we have to Trump. Both are populists, misogynists, have sexual assault charges against them (Trump) or have admitted to committing sexual assault (Duterte),” says Filipina PhD teacher and researcher from the University of Auckland Leal Rodriguez

Rodriguez likens this to the Philippine situation, where former President Rodrigo Duterte remains popular despite his misogynist rhetoric: “Duterte is the closest political parallel we have to Trump. Both are populists, misogynists, have sexual assault charges against them (Trump) or have admitted to committing sexual assault (Duterte).”

“Why didn’t women swear off men when Duterte won?” Rodriguez ponders, before continuing, “Duterte’s reliability to Filipinos as tatay ng bayan, macho, tunay na lalaki, and his narrative surrounding the drug war led him to be a hero, so more Filipinos relate to him, than [those who] don’t. And in a kin-based society like ours, kinship with someone, regardless of his narrative, “bastos pero maginoo,” makes his behavior excusable.

For her, our “pakikipag-kapwa” can be a double-edged sword that can reinforce or reduce patriarchy.

She sees this in “the patriarchal bargain” where women accept oppression, thanks to perceived benefits, such as economic security.

Rodriguez, however, believes that the 4B movement might not really take off in the Philippines given that “we have avenues to push for gender equality which aren’t as polarizing. And as a people, I think we prefer working together, kapwa, rather than working alone. So we do have a bit of recognition about shared oppression.”

Rodriguez however believes that the 4B movement might not really take off in the Philippines given that “we have avenues to push for gender equality which aren’t as polarizing. And as a people, I think we prefer working together, kapwa, rather than working alone”

After all, men too feel pressured about performing “tunay na lalake” to a fault.

If you’re a man reading this, think of your mother, sister, grandmother, and aunt. One in four Filipino women have experienced gender-based violence and have been silenced against speaking about it. One of the most popular political leaders in the Philippines is openly misogynist, representing cultural attitudes that enable behavior like his.

Perhaps, brother, now would be a good time to listen to the life stories of women in your life. If you already dobet88, kudos, man. What we can do now is to start conversations with our homies, especially if they’re more willing to listen to a brother. 

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