Voluntary and Involuntary Sexlessness Including 4B Movements In South Korea, Japan, and Western Countries

The 4B movement, which began among women in South Korea, promotes voluntary sexlessness as a form of resistance to patriarchal gender norms. However, another form of marital sexlessness—where women do not intentionally refuse sexual activity—has also become prevalent within Korean society. It is important to examine what these experiences mean for women and men, and how they are socially interpreted.

In Japan, critiques of men such as those expressed in the 4B movement have not become a major social phenomenon. Nevertheless, marital sexlessness has increased since the 2000s and now affects more than half of married couples.

This session will explore the phenomena of 4B and marital sexlessness in South Korea and Japan, examining how voluntary, involuntary, and intermediate forms of sexlessness are reflected in these trends. One important factor behind the rise of sexlessness in both countries appears to be the weakening of gendered norms of compulsory sexuality, particularly the expectation that wives should comply with their husbands’ sexual desires.

Meanwhile, the 4B movement has attracted attention to Western countries, where its claims include women achieving orgasm within lesbian relationships. This session will also compare this form of voluntary sexlessness in the West with sexlessness in South Korea and Japan. A key difference lies in the pursuit of women’s sexual pleasure. Reconsidering sexlessness from this perspective will be an important part of our discussion.

We particularly welcome participants from South Korea.