Lazystrata
No sex for you, Trump voters!
There’s more coming out of South Korea than just K-pop phenoms like BTS or 015B. Enter 4B - and nope, it’s not the name of a band. It’s a full-blown movement. The “B” stands for bi (비/非), meaning “no” in Korean, and the four no's in question are:
no sex with men,
no giving birth,
no dating men, and
no marriage with men.
Basically, it’s the ultimate “men can’t sit with us” club. The movement arose as a protest against violence toward women, reaching its peak in the early 2000s. Think of it as Aristophanes’ Lysistrata and its remake Chi-Raq by Spike Lee. In both, the ladies weaponize their… ahem… abstinence to bring about peace. Or, as Chi-Raq’s tagline so eloquently put it: “No peace, no piece.”
But, as often happens when something serious crosses the ocean and lands on our shores, it somehow morphs into a farce. Remember how we turned Le Dîner de Cons (1998) into Dinner for Schmucks (2010)? Or postmodernism? (And don’t even get us started on American cheese.) Well, 4B here in the U.S. got a remix of its own: no sex… but this time, with Trump supporters.
Yes, you read that right. Apparently, the way to combat political division is to deny Trump voters a roll in the hay. Even minorities weren’t spared, with critics accusing them of cozying up to white men just for the crumbs off their plates to eat from … their scraps (sic.), an argument as messy as it is awkward. But really, has anyone flipped from MAGA to “woke” because someone decided to withhold Netflix-and-chill privileges? Doubtful. It’s the laziest form of political engagement we’ve seen yet. And what should we call this strategy? Oh, it’s right on the tip of my tongue… that’s it! Lazystrata.
Here at The Flickering Beacon, we thought we’d give Lazystrata a whirl, too. A few months back, we vowed not to sleep with anyone (yes, anyone) who doesn’t support proctoring math placement exams. Weirdly, though, no one seemed to notice. Maybe we should’ve offered first and then refused? Is that how this works? Maybe it’s us being science geeks? Or perhaps… just a wild thought here… good old-fashioned debate might do the trick? No blue balls required.