6B4T movement
The 6B4T movement (Korean: 6비4탈; Hanja: 6非4脫; RR: Yukbisatal ; Chinese: 6B4T运动; pinyin: Liùbīsìtī Yùndòng) is an online radical feminist movement that spread from South Korea to China whose members organize in opposition to sexism and patriarchal structures.[1] It is the first movement that started with the fourth wave of feminism in Korea.[2] A notable aspect of the 6B4T movement is its members' commitment to never marry men or have heterosexual sexual relations, nor bear children. [3]
Beginning in 2019, the movement grew out of the South Korean 4B movement, whose members also renounce sex, child-rearing, dating, and marriage with men.[4][5][6][7] In Korean-language abbreviation,[8] "6B" refers to the same four commandments of the 4B movement as well as not buying sexist products (Korean: 비소비; Hanja: 非消費; RR: bisobi) and supporting fellow single women practicing the movement (Korean: 비돕비; Hanja: 非돕非; RR: bidopbi), while "4T" refers to rejecting strict beauty standards (Korean: 탈코르셋; Hanja: 脫corset; RR: talkoreuset), hypersexual depictions of women in Japanese otaku culture (Korean: 탈오타쿠; Hanja: 脫otaku; RR: tarotaku), religion (Korean: 탈종교; Hanja: 脫宗敎; RR: taljonggyo), and idol culture (Korean: 탈아이돌; Hanja: 脫idol; RR: taraidol).[8][6][7][9][10]
After crossing over from South Korea, discussion of 6B4T blossomed on the Chinese social network Douban, which centers around posting media reviews but draws a particularly young, educated membership.[11][9] It is among this population of young, well-educated women that the movement has gained popularity, according to the scholar Leta Hong Fincher.[10]
While a fringe element of China's wider feminist movement, in 2021, 6B4T drew significant attention from Chinese government censors, which is credited with inadvertently boosting the movement's profile both in China and internationally.[11][6][12] In April of that year, several Douban groups affiliated with the movement were shut down for content relating to "extremism, radical politics, and ideologies," and the phrase "6B4T" was banned on the platform as well.[11][6][7][13]
See also
References
- ^ Koetse, Manya (2021-04-13). "Censorship of Chinese 6B4T & Feminist Groups Prompts Wave of Support for "Douban Sisters"". Retrieved 2022-05-18.
- ^ 비혼봇, 비혼봇 (2020-05-03). "6B4T". Retrieved 2022-05-20.
- ^ Zhou, Viola (2021-04-14). "These Chinese Women Vow Never to Marry or Have Sex With Men. Then Censors Stepped In". Vice World News. Archived from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
- ^ Radio Free Asia (2021-04-28). "China Set to Record First Fall in Population Since Great Famine". Retrieved 2021-06-29.
- ^ Agence-France Press (2019-12-07). "The feminist movement urging South Korean women to shun marriage". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2019-12-07. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
- ^ a b c d Li, Jane (2021-04-14). "A Chinese platform is erasing "radical" accounts that shun men and the patriarchy". Quartz. Archived from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
- ^ a b c Zhang, Lijia (2021-05-14). "Censoring feminist discussions won't fix China's population crisis". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
- ^ a b 김태은, ed. (2021). 여성에게 국가는 없다: 한남·여혐민국의 20대여성 현상. 인사이트브리즈. ISBN 9791186142660.
- ^ a b Koetse, Manya (2021-04-13). "Censorship of Chinese 6B4T & Feminist Groups Prompts Wave of Support for "Douban Sisters"". What's on Weibo. Archived from the original on 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
- ^ a b Zaugg, Julie (2021-06-05). "Ni homme ni enfants". Le Temps (in French).
- ^ a b c "6B4T: From South Korea to China, these girls choose to live a more thorough single life". iMedia. 2022-08-02. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ^ Rudolph, Josh (2021-04-17). "After Shuttering of Feminist Douban Groups, Women Call for Unity Online". China Digital Times. Archived from the original on 2021-04-17. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
- ^ "Closure of online feminist groups in China sparks call for women to 'stick together'". Reuters. 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2021-06-08.