| Abstract [eng] |
This thesis examines the digital expression of South Korea’s feminist 4B movement. The 4B movement is understood here as both a practice and a discourse based on four refusals: refusal of marriage with men, childbirth, romantic relationships with men, and sexual relationships with men. The main question of the thesis is how these ideas are articulated in digital texts and comment sections, and what aspects of South Korea’s sociocultural context they make visible. Although 4B is often associated with South Korea’s low fertility crisis, this thesis takes a more cautious position. The movement is not treated as a direct cause of low fertility, but as a discourse that reveals broader tensions related to gender inequality, relationship safety, reproductive pressure, the stigmatization of feminism, and digital visibility. The theoretical framework combines radical feminist theory and theories of digital movements. Radical feminism helps explain why marriage, reproduction, sexuality, and the heteronormative family become politically significant in the context of 4B. Theories of digital movements make it possible to discuss how the movement’s ideas circulate across platforms, how they are simplified, supported, criticized, and reinterpreted by different audiences. Methodologically, the thesis applies a qualitative research approach, combining netnographic collection of publicly available digital comments with thematic analysis. The empirical comment corpus consists of 75 comments: 35 Reddit comments from two r/TwoXChromosomes discussions and 40 YouTube comments from four video comment sections. For ethical reasons, the comments are paraphrased and are not linked to usernames, profiles, or other identifiable details. The analysis shows that 4B does not appear in digital spaces as a single, fixed ideological position. Rather, it functions as a contested discourse of feminist refusal. In the Reddit comments, three main positions emerged: support, ambivalent approval, and criticism. Supportive comments interpreted 4B as a form of self-protection, autonomy, and feminist resistance. Ambivalent comments did not necessarily identify with the movement, but recognized women’s right to refuse marriage, motherhood, relationships, or the centrality of men in their lives. Critical comments raised questions about radicalism, representativeness, inclusion, and the tendency of Western audiences to simplify Korean feminism. The YouTube comments expanded the analysis by showing a broader digital context in which the stigmatization of feminism, antifeminist backlash, women’s safety, workplace inequality, sexual violence, and distrust in institutions repeatedly appeared. The thesis concludes that 4B should not be understood only as a response to South Korea’s demographic crisis or as a radical lifestyle choice. Its significance lies in the way individual refusal becomes a public feminist vocabulary. In digital spaces, 4B allows users to question what is considered normal, desirable, or obligatory in women’s lives, especially in relation to marriage, motherhood, heterosexual relationships, sexuality, and reproductive futures. |
