#the Four No’s

[coochiequeens]

Men can either evolve or die alone. The women in this movement may not have a spouse or kids but they are building their own community

Many South Korean women are so fed up with machismo that, in recent years, they’ve taken up a radical stance: refusing to marry, date men, have sex and reproduce. This movement—known as “the four no’s”—began in 2019. It has since spread, in the hope that the conservative government of Yoon Suk-yeol will adopt measures that promote gender equality.

Despite the solid academic credentials of women in South Korea, according to a study by Statista, the gender pay gap is scandalous: men earn 30% more than women. This makes the country, according to the Korean Herald, the most gender-unequal OECD nation.

Added to this is a poor work-life balance in South Korea, as well as a disparity in the distribution of domestic tasks. Women often assume the responsibility of raising children, pushing them to have to choose between working or being mothers. In South Korea, the work week is 52-hours-long.

The ”four no’s” is a desperate cry that arose after the incumbent South Korean president began his term. He has stated his intention to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The repercussions of the so-called “birth strike” have been severe for the country. For three consecutive years, the country has had the lowest fertility rate in the world, with an average of 0.78 children per woman.

“Life isn’t going well for many young people, for whom getting married or having children is no longer natural,” Lee Sang-lim, a demographer at the Korea Institute of Health and Social Affairs, told The New York Times.

The country is on alert, since an average of 2.1 children per woman is estimated to be necessary to keep the population stable. In 2020, the number of deaths exceeded the number of births in South Korea. Many cities are at risk of disappearing in the coming years.

Hawon Jung, the author of Flowers of Fire: The Inside Story of South Korea’s Feminist Movement, tells EL PAÍS that the movement was sparked by the governmental policies in a country that she considers to be very conservative.

“Single mothers are stigmatized, doctors refuse to give IVF to women without a male partner—even though it’s not illegal—and out-of-wedlock births represent only 2% of the total, compared to the average of 41% for women in the OECD. Marriage and childbirth are closely intertwined; women are pressured to sacrifice their career once they have a child or get married.”

Jung believes that the origin of the problem lies in the role of women since Confucianism—the prevailing ideology before the reforms of the 20th century. The philosophy advocated submissive daughters, chaste wives and self-sacrificing mothers. These beliefs were maintained due to a militarized society, where the concept of aggressive masculinity has been prevalent throughout history. This has applied from the Korean War (1950-1953) onwards, through the military dictatorship, to the ongoing confrontation with North Korea.

According to Jung, “countries where parents are more cooperative and have good family policies—such as Sweden—or that recognize the diversity of couples, like France, have been more successful in stabilizing or even increasing their birth rates.”

The movement of the “four no’s” reflects the radicalization of a frustration that has made women even opt to give up sex. According to Jung, “young women don’t consider it worth investing their time and energy into having affairs with men,” as they find it exhausting trying to find one who doesn’t follow patriarchal norms.

Feminist movements have, historically, been very effective in the country, achieving milestones such as the decriminalization of abortion in 2021, or changes in the notions of female beauty. The “escape of the corset” movement, for instance, rejects the rigid South Korean stereotypes associated with women, such as having long hair or following the K-pop beauty concept, which imposes the obligation on women to have porcelain skin, wear perfect makeup and undergo plastic surgery. It’s increasingly common to see South Korean women and girls with short hair, or daring to wear glasses rather than contact lenses. This has been a real revolution.

But there is still a long way to go in a country where gender violence doesn’t always lead to a charge or divorce. According to a survey published by the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice, eight out of 10 men admitted to having been violent towards their partner.

Jennifer Jung-Kim, a professor of Korean History at UCLA, points out via email that, in order to solve the problems derived from the gender gap in South Korea, gender-based violence must be recognized and prosecuted as such.

“When it comes to the government and corporations, laws and policies must prohibit discrimination and guarantee equal pay and opportunities for women… especially working mothers. Socially, there needs to be a greater support system for working parents, so that either parent can take days off if a child is sick, or to attend a school meeting or event. And single parents, whether male or female, shouldn’t be stigmatized, regardless of whether they are adoptive or biological parents,” she explains.

For Jung-Kim, the most important thing is an internal change on the part of men.

“They must step up and take on household chores and childcare equally and support their wives in their career choices.”

Judy Han, a professor and vice chair of Undergraduate Affairs in the Department of Gender Studies at UCLA, points out that the movement of the “four no’s” is an invitation to rebuild society.

“Can we imagine a world where women don’t have to shoulder the full burden of reproductive and domestic work, without being degraded or exploited? Where they could have marriage equality without throwing away their professional careers? Can women imagine a world without abuse, rape and violence?” she wonders.

This approach could work in many other democratic countries where gender inequality affects birth rates. Faced with an apparently unbeatable patriarchal system, more and more women around the world are choosing to give up having children, because they cannot reconcile their personal and professional lives. The consequences can push governments to act and shape entire societies.

According to Judy Han, “anyone—men and women, straight, queer, cisgender and transgender—would benefit from taking these criticisms seriously and creating a more just society.”

#South Korea #the Four No’s #No dates #no sex #no weddings #No kids #Hawon Jung #Flowers of Fire: The Inside Story of South Korea’s Feminist Movement

[ghcstofutopia]

happy rika pokemas day to all who celebrate

#my art #pokemon #clodsire #rika #elite four rika

[starbuck]

i say i like tragedies and everyone’s all like ‘why do you like sad stories? are you depressed?’ and never ‘how was the catharsis? was the catharsis fun?’

#i don’t know how to explain this to normal people 😭😭 #for the record my coworkers didn’t directly question me on this #but i think i have vastly overestimated the amount of the population who is aware of like. Films. #NOT claiming that i have seen a lot - but i’ve mentioned three *REALLY* well-known films in the past four days #and got blank stares each time #the one of them was a REALLY good reference too… someday my top-notch association skills will be recognized #my first act as Mansion Acquaintance of the [redacted] Director will be to force everyone to watch a 40s romcom i didn’t even like #i’m getting off the point #the POINT is that It’s About The Catharsis

[marisatomay]

You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me

#I have a few more I almost added but I thought no … I keep it to four for now …

[acrowseye]

i'm conducting an experiment. everyone who's from an english speaking country state your country, regional area and what you call the following images. i need to see something

#ex: united states > south > sodapop #please rb so more people see #american english #australian english #british english #canadian english #english #english language #dialects #accents #american accent #australian accent #british accent #canadian accent #english accent #america #australia #england #canada #those four are my target audience but all answers from around the world are welcome!! #tumblr #discourse #experiment

[prokopetz]

The constant rolling disaster that is Overwatch's game development aside, what really perplexes me about how Blizzard is handling the broader franchise is their continual insistence that a canon narrative exists in spite of their equally continual refusal to tell anyone what it is.

Like, okay, the events of the games aren't canon. Fair enough: the games are multiplayer-only, and you can't account for player actions.

Oh, and the animated short films aren't canon either – they're properly understood as in-universe propaganda, not depictions of actual events. That's a little high concept for you guys, but fine.

But surely the comics are canon, right? Well, no; some of the comics (we're not telling you which ones) were canon at one point, but the writing team has decided to go in a different direction.

My dudes, what is left? The weird Source Filmmaker porn? Is that canon? Well, apparently it's at least as canon as anything else!

#gaming #video games #overwatch #blizzard #game development #writing #canon #metatextual wankery #pornography mention #swearing #recording a four-hour video essay interrogating the canonicity of widowmaker's massive hog

[hansoeii]

we go just right.

#when the date went so wonderful that you don't even mind that you forgot your umbrella at home #crowley is doing his best and aziraphale appreciates it very much #aziraphale's very special version of pride and prejudice can't get wet #so you gotta use the four year old newspaper you found in your bentley #I am not mentally ready for season 2 #it will change me in a way that I cannot even explain #thank you neil gaiman love of my life fr #good omens #good omens 2 #good omens fanart #good omens 2 fanart #aziracrow fanart #aziracrow #ineffable husbands #aziraphale #crowley #david tenannt #micheal sheen #neil gaiman #digital art

[sewercentipede]

everybody’s horny or on their period or microdosing mushrooms or having their birthday soon… march really has arrived

#my dashboard is synched in menstrual cycle and psychedelic therapy due to the harmonic convergence of waning Pisces and waxing aries season #I got my period the morning after posting this 💃 #so now I’m all four #1k #5k #10k

[aquuaryo]

"Earthshaker, stormbringer, father of horses. Hail Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God." 🌊

#i guess the key for learning how to do backgrounds is not drawing for over four months cause idek how i did that #percy jackson #pjo #pjo tv #percy jackson and the olympians #walker scobell #walker percy #percy series #pjo tv show #percy jackson tv show #fanart #digital art #art

[t00thpasteface]

who let this man adopt a child

#forever mishmashing like three or four different sources for their designs #art #comic #dc #batman #dc robin #bruce wayne #dick grayson

[ichorai]

fuck the tits or ass debate, i find eyebags sooo attractive. your exhausted, sleep-deprived, mildly haunted aura has bewitched me body and soul

#when they look tired and haven't slept in four days >>>> #this is about viktor from arcane but so many ppl apply #rami malek comes to mind ...

[possessable]

Hello i'm a normal person here's some stuff i drew to illustrate different traits different "person getting controlled" tropes can have

edit: obligatory possession shorthand code link because people seem to be using this like the possession code but just. without the code part

edit: DO NOT BE HORNY ON MY POST 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

#if you see tumblr flagging this its literally not mature i dont know why it got flagged #i like how you can see the artstyle in this change because i drew the first couple a year ago and then picked it up again intermittently #this aws just an excuse to draw a bunch of tiny possessed guys. ''what am i supposed to do with a possession hyperfixation its not like you #can draw possession fanart'' Yes You Can If you really Believe In yourslef #This isn't even all the traits i can think of there's four more but they seem kind of boring to draw and are mostly self explanatory #Less Unique my Ass #ThePossessionHyperfixationIsNeverEnding

[hjbender]

The Four Discoursemen

#fandom #discourse #shipping #antis #four horsemen of the apocalypse #hjbedit #i had an epiphany #you might call it a—revelation

[stil-lindigo]

Ahmed Saad, a Palestinian man who had to jump through an insane amount of loops to get the funds necessary for escaping Gaza, is asking us all to donate to his friend’s family fund.

Mohamed is a hemophilia patient who needs access to medicine and to do surgery on his knees, his 11-year-old daughter also needs thigh surgery (she was supposed to do it outside Gaza in November but couldn't travel due to the border issues). Mohammed’s condition is worsening rapidly and, with Israel destroying the last functional hospital in Gaza, things are looking dire.

Please donate generously!

#Ahmed has truly an incredibly empathetic soul #and Israel is so ludicrously and inconceivably evil #there were 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip four months ago and now there are none #these fucking monsters deserve nothing #so please feel for the Palestinians desperate to leave and get help #you can make a difference in a persons life today #please donate generously #palestine #free Palestine #call to action #from the river to the sea #free gaza #free West Bank

[iknaenmal]

#pride #reblog :) #1k #<- IN FOUR HOURS ?

[vaor]

things i wish i had known when i escaped my family household and couldn't ask my parents for help

invest in a good mattress early on. there are many other ends you can save on - sleep is not one of them. this is key to how much energy you'll have throughout the day

you don't need a bedframe but you do need a slatted bed base (even if it's just pallets)

opening a bank account is easy

there's youtube tutorials for everything. how to install your washing machine, how to use tools, fixing stuff around the place. channels like dad, how do i? are a godsend

change energy provider as soon as your old deal runs out. you'll get better offers elsewhere and avoid price gouging

assemble a basic first aid kid at home: painkillers, probiotics, alcohol wipes, bandages, tweezers, antihistamine tablets - anything you might need in a pinch

and an emergency toolkit: flashlight, extra batteries, a utility knife, an adjustable wrench, multi-tool, duct tape

set your fridge to the lowest temperature it can go. the energy consumption is minimal in difference and it'll give you +4/7 days on most foods

off-brand products are almost always the same in quality and taste, if not better, for half the price

coupons will save you a lot of money in the long run

there's no reason to be shy around employees at the bank/laundromat/store; most people will be happy to help

vegetarian diets are generally cheap if you make food from scratch

breakfast is as important as they say

keep track of your budget in a notebook or excel file - e.g. rent, phone and internet bills, food, leisure so you'll have an overlook on your spending over the months

don't gamble

piracy is okay

stealing from big stores and chains is also ethically okay

keep medical bills and pharmacy receipts for tax returns

also, file your tax returns early

take up a hobby that isn't in front of a screen. pottery, music, going for a run every now and then, stuff that'll keep you busy and sane

and most importantly... you're allowed to get the stuff you want. treat yourself to the occasional mundane thing. a good scented candle. a bath bomb. that body lotion that makes you feel like royalty. the good coffee beans.

you're free and you deserve to be happy.

#going from being denied basic knowledge to becoming independent over night was wild lmao #but here i am #four years later #doing pretty good #hera screams into the void #moving out #abusive parents