Olivia Silvey ’25
Editor-in-Chief
Since Nov. 5 I have been struggling to articulate my multifaceted reaction to the 2024 election results naming Donald Trump as our 47th president. In this editorial I want to discuss three main points with y’all: Democratic Party messaging, alienation of young men and the 4B movement.
Democratic Party’s Message
I begrudgingly voted for Kamala Harris this year. I based this vote on what marginalized groups in the United States were asking of voters – overwhelmingly, I saw Black, queer, disabled, Indigenous groups maintain the urgency of voting for Harris. Not because she had striking policy or clear goals, but because we needed to protect rights for certain groups across America in order to continue fighting the fight.
My vote never sat right with me for many reasons – first and foremost, the Democrats’ funding of the genocide in Palestine. But, as the election came and went, it became embarrassingly clear how weak the Democratic Party is beyond its murderous policies abroad. The party identifies no concrete problems and offers no concrete solutions. I’m typically no fan of the Democrats (too much white liberalism for my taste), but the inability to send a clear message and identify clear goals during allegedly the most important election of our lifetime is just humiliating. On the other hand, the Republican Party knows how to brand themselves. Even as someone who voted for Harris, I know exactly what issues Trump identified and what his solutions are. Even though many (most?) of his talking points are simply false, he speaks to voters’ insecurities, fears and weaknesses while promising a tangible solution. Harris never did that.
The 2024 election is a turning point for the Democrats; the Scooby Doo villain mask is off. Will the party start listening, talking to and working with the people it claims to represent?
Male Alienation
Since Election Day, I have been seeing people posting something along these lines: “if you voted for Donald Trump, unfollow me and never speak to me again.” My first reaction was agreement – I’m a woman, concerned for other women in this country, especially queer women of color. Trump does not seem interested in protecting these people. However, as I saw more of these posts, the message just didn’t sit right with me. Why is our first instinct to vilify Trump voters? I know that sounds like an incredibly tone deaf question to those most at risk under a Trump presidency. But this reaction only intensifies a phenomenon that helped Trump get elected: the increasing amount of young men feeling alienated from society and therefore turning to alt-right messaging.
In sociology, we talk a lot about the dangerous effects of social isolation. Without other humans, we become less human. In recent years, American culture (especially… yes… white liberals) love telling people that they should cut off those closest to them if they disagree politically. At first glance this sounds empowering – but in the end, it seems to repeat a cycle of social isolation that pushes certain groups to seek validation from personalities like Trump, Joe Rogan and Theo Von. I am not necessarily espousing the idea of “let’s be friends regardless of our politics,” but why is cutting people off our first instinct when confronted with differences? However, I don’t think it’s fair to ask marginalized groups to do the work to “get back” voters who are seemingly against their very existence. Whose responsibility is it to hear these young men? How do we make a more cohesive society while protecting the most at-risk people? It becomes increasingly clear that it is white folks, with the ears of white family members and young male cousins, who hold this responsibility. It’s time to do the work instead of sitting back and cutting people off.
The 4B Movement
If you are a young woman on social media, you’ve probably heard of the 4B movement. Essentially, it encourages women to say no to four things: heterosexual dating, sex, marriage and childbirth. While it originated in South Korea in the 2010s, with Trump’s reelection many American women have been discussing it online. I have mixed feelings about it (most of them negative).
In my research on the 4B movement, it seems that many women partake in it with the goal of decentering men in their lives. As a young woman myself, I’ve seen and experienced what it’s like to have men at the center of one’s life – it’s exhausting. However, the way in which I’ve seen 4B discourse pop up online does not seem to have the intention of decentering men in order to re-center women. Instead, women have suggested it as a bargaining technique: ‘don’t have sex with men until they give us our rights back.’ This tactic feels like we are centering our lives around men even more – it’s reactionary, rather than proactive. It’s a punishment (like we’re disciplining a son…) rather than a step towards liberation.
Furthermore, it doesn’t seem like feminists withholding sex is going to make misogynistic men suddenly respect women. There are plenty of women out there who aren’t bothered by conservative men: 53% of white women voted for Trump in 2024 (so let’s stop blaming Trump’s election on Latinx voters, thanks). Additionally, with the surge of men proudly telling women “your body, my choice” both online and IRL, consensual sex does not seem to be their concern. (Yes, that’s dark, and yes, that’s our reality.)
Just to drive my point home, the 4B movement originated on the South Korean website Womad, which is known for furthering homophobic and transphobic rhetoric – the group is founded on TERF (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist) ideals, excluding non-biological women from this alleged female liberation movement. We cannot let ourselves descend into transphobia under the guise of decentering men.
Instead of leveraging our bodies, let’s reclaim them alongside other aspects of our life that go beyond dating, sex, marriage and childbirth. Hold the people around you accountable for their actions – regardless of if they are men or not. Most importantly (in my opinion), surround yourselves with women of multiple identities to build power and community.
Final thoughts
I hope these words make you engage with these ideas in your own way. Again, we are only one week after Election Day – we are all still processing, preparing, questioning. I would love to hear your reaction to my reflections and continue this dialogue.
With peace,
OPS
I read this representation of an article and immediately thought that the writer should re-enroll as a first-year student and start over.
Latinx is a term made up by some characters sitting around in a think tank trying to coin a cool description of Hispanics. Most of the people that I know fitting that ethnicity don’t think much of that term.
Use of the term genocide in Gaza is misplaced. Israel got attacked by Hamas. They responded. Hamas and Palestinians are mostly synonymous. Israel getting attacked by proxies from Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthi’s is proof of the enmity and hatred toward them by the other groups. Israel must defend itself and destroy its enemies and they ae doing just that.
Get over this election. Don’t alienate people with other political views. That will make you sick and ruin your soul. Blame the Democrats for giving President Biden an unceremonious hook out of the race and for fielding a compromised team that could never inspire even its base and who relied on “celebrities” to assist. No plans, no policies and not enough inspiration to vote for them.