Rebecca Jennings

So that's why you'll sometimes see in the 4B TikToks right now, women might shave their heads or talk about doing that.

So that's why you'll sometimes see in the 4B TikToks right now, women might shave their heads or talk about doing that.

Escape the corset and 4B are both responding to really, really specific things in South Korea. The gender wars there have looked very intense over the past decade. Escape the corset is emerging as a response to the intensity of beauty standards in South Korea. A lot of listeners might be familiar with K-beauty as a concept, like Korean skincare and makeup. It's a huge market.

Escape the corset and 4B are both responding to really, really specific things in South Korea. The gender wars there have looked very intense over the past decade. Escape the corset is emerging as a response to the intensity of beauty standards in South Korea. A lot of listeners might be familiar with K-beauty as a concept, like Korean skincare and makeup. It's a huge market.

Escape the corset and 4B are both responding to really, really specific things in South Korea. The gender wars there have looked very intense over the past decade. Escape the corset is emerging as a response to the intensity of beauty standards in South Korea. A lot of listeners might be familiar with K-beauty as a concept, like Korean skincare and makeup. It's a huge market.

It's really, really fashionable in the US. Korea is actually the third largest exporter of cosmetics in the world. They have the most plastic surgeons per capita. Plastic surgery is a really common graduation gift there. Most job applications require you to submit a headshot.

It's really, really fashionable in the US. Korea is actually the third largest exporter of cosmetics in the world. They have the most plastic surgeons per capita. Plastic surgery is a really common graduation gift there. Most job applications require you to submit a headshot.

It's really, really fashionable in the US. Korea is actually the third largest exporter of cosmetics in the world. They have the most plastic surgeons per capita. Plastic surgery is a really common graduation gift there. Most job applications require you to submit a headshot.

There's a lot of pressure on people in general, but especially on women to have this really specific, really high maintenance look. And Escape the Corset is about saying, okay, we're going to choose not to participate in those expectations, right? And it's also a country with a really low birth rate.

There's a lot of pressure on people in general, but especially on women to have this really specific, really high maintenance look. And Escape the Corset is about saying, okay, we're going to choose not to participate in those expectations, right? And it's also a country with a really low birth rate.

There's a lot of pressure on people in general, but especially on women to have this really specific, really high maintenance look. And Escape the Corset is about saying, okay, we're going to choose not to participate in those expectations, right? And it's also a country with a really low birth rate.

So the government there has tried a lot of different things to try to get people to have more kids. And there's one really infamous initiative that happens in 2016. That's when the South Korean government releases a birth map that has different cities colored in different shades of pink, depending on how many fertile women live there. Ooh. Yeah, so do a ton of women. This is really dehumanizing.

So the government there has tried a lot of different things to try to get people to have more kids. And there's one really infamous initiative that happens in 2016. That's when the South Korean government releases a birth map that has different cities colored in different shades of pink, depending on how many fertile women live there. Ooh. Yeah, so do a ton of women. This is really dehumanizing.

So the government there has tried a lot of different things to try to get people to have more kids. And there's one really infamous initiative that happens in 2016. That's when the South Korean government releases a birth map that has different cities colored in different shades of pink, depending on how many fertile women live there. Ooh. Yeah, so do a ton of women. This is really dehumanizing.

They're like, okay, the government is treating us like cattle, like we're livestock. And 4B is a way of saying, you know what? We are opting out of being breeding animals for you. No, thank you. So that's sort of the intellectual background for these two movements. But we start to see them pick up steam as a response to a string of gender-motivated crimes.

They're like, okay, the government is treating us like cattle, like we're livestock. And 4B is a way of saying, you know what? We are opting out of being breeding animals for you. No, thank you. So that's sort of the intellectual background for these two movements. But we start to see them pick up steam as a response to a string of gender-motivated crimes.

They're like, okay, the government is treating us like cattle, like we're livestock. And 4B is a way of saying, you know what? We are opting out of being breeding animals for you. No, thank you. So that's sort of the intellectual background for these two movements. But we start to see them pick up steam as a response to a string of gender-motivated crimes.

So in 2016, there's the infamous Gangnam murder, which is when a man stabbed a random woman to death in the Gangnam neighborhood in Seoul.

So in 2016, there's the infamous Gangnam murder, which is when a man stabbed a random woman to death in the Gangnam neighborhood in Seoul.

So in 2016, there's the infamous Gangnam murder, which is when a man stabbed a random woman to death in the Gangnam neighborhood in Seoul.