'Sponsorship' in Kenya
A decade ago, the word Sponsorship meant the act of supporting an event, activity, person or organization. But now it has a completely different meaning, atleast in Kenya.
With the new crop of youth coming up, the word has been popularized to mean an older man who supports your lavish lifestyle. This older man is wealthy or has surplus money to spare outside his obligations and has no problem exposing you to a lifestyle beyond your means. And the young girls who are enjoying the benefits of the 'Sponsors' later named themselves the 'Slay Queens'!
Slay Queen don't have to struggle so hard to earn that designer shoe and diamond that almost blind you..Nah! The just have to put on cakes of make up, do some butt injections and liposuction thanks to the sponsors making it rain and they are in the market with a Bang! And little ol' regular girls just die with envy and self-hate because they cannot compare their second-hand clothes and shoes that they buy with their pocket money to the designer wear being flaunted on Social Media by the Slay Queens.
But today I want to play the devil's advocate. Let's look at the pros and cons of being with a Sponsor. And we will look at the two different scenarios of being a Regular girl and being a Slay Queen.
So here I am a s a Regular Girl, dating a boy my age. I have social media which has become a basic need and I see how my friend is going to those expensive dinners and shopping in Dubai and London and ofcourse I want to look good! So I go to my regular boyfriend and say; " Babe, why don't you take me for dinner one of these days? We hardly go out and all you do is just invite me home for a movie and cook for me rice and ndengu."
Le Bae says cool, I will take you for dinner. And he takes you to town to Chicken Inn or KFC and he is grinning from ear to ear because he bought you the regular chips, chicken and soda in his ragged jeans and T-shirt that he has been sweating in the whole day! And that is the treat for the whole month!
As for shopping, he doesn't even know your dress size and takes you by the roadside to buy what the hawkers are selling. You are likely to buy ill-fitting clothes since there is no changing room because you are by the roadside buying second-hand wear!
Seriously!
Haiya....Let's go the the Slay Queen. She decided that the regular boys are too much trouble for nothing. They never go out of their way to show you how special you are, claiming they are broke. The little money they have, they spend on drinks with their buddies, and betting on online games or buying weed. They have a string of girls they flirt with claiming to be just friends, and of course there are benefits on the side. You always quarrel over little things, because they are not emotionally mature enough to reason with the big picture in mind. Furthermore, their motto is YOLO (You Only Live Once) so once you walk out the door they just ring their string of ladies to come comfort them as they have their cheap liquor.
Anyhow, that's too much drama for the Slay Queen. She prefers a guy who is mature enough, who will not bore her with unnecessary arguments. The Sponsor will only ring her if they are going out for lavish dinners, asking what she is wearing so as to match her colour scheme or calling to find out if she received the cash in her bank account, or whether she has confirmed her flight details to Dubai and all the other countries he goes to for business and brings her as company.
She sees him in action in those business meetings and gets advice on how to invest her money and which business ideas are hot right now. They say if you have not travelled, you only live one chapter of your life. So in terms of experience, she is way ahead of her agemates. She gets to meet the Sponsor's friends and gets to be connected to job opportunities as her friends are busy tarmacking. She learns how to interact with the older crowd who are her bosses and hence gains favor with them and gets promoted real quick as the regular girl struggles for 3 years to get a single promotion.
So, based on the two scenarios, should we really demonize the Slay Queens or congratulate them for thinking smart and ahead of the rest of the herd??
Lemme know by commenting below with your thoughts on the above!
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Life is so funny. Most of the time things don't end up great for those who choose that life. Before long they will be seeking companionship to settle down and they will realize nobody is willing to wife them. Meanwhile those who worked hard and built themselves up will have it tough in the beginning and a have it better later on.
Either way choices have consequences. It is just a matter of which consequences you are willing to live with.
True...It's all about the choices we choose and the consequences we live with. On the other hand, they might choose to become second wives!
I am yet to meet a girl who likes to share.😉😉
Nice, if I was a chick. sponsors would be the way to go. free everything except humping an old guy. aww..
Looks like the benefits outweigh the negatives!
I never judge any chic who prefers to be with sponsors btw. As long as they know what they are doing and are not going into it blindly. Most of these chics arent dumb btw. They know what they are doing. I also never know what made them decide to be with that guy/ man. We have mudslinged chics who are ambitious enough to want something else than the norm and they are busy living their lives. Plus life can take you to rock bottom mpaka you have nothing else to lose. I would never hate on them.
However, on the contrary, also don't judge chics who want to go the humble beginnings route and make their own money.
I think it's every woman and her life. If fast / easy money is her priority, she will chose the first option. If love, hapiness and respect is her priority, she will choose the latter and be patient enough to make her own money or build wealth with her S/O.
Sure thing! There is no one way to live your life...It's all about being authentic about how you are and how you choose to express yourself in this world.
All we can do is wish them the best and hope their choices bring them happiness!
Haha things are changing fast! We would need new dictionaries and stuff for all these. Sponsors have revolutionized the dating industry and this is a very debatable matter. Really glad I got to read this.
I tell you! I wonder what our kids will come up with!
hahaha, I'd consider it if sex wasn't involved. Sadly there's no shortcut to success, sell your body in the process or work smart and hard like some. Either way, you've got to make a choice.
True...Life is all about choices!
And just to be cheeky..you can get an old billionaire who is lonely but can't get it up and needs some company..hehehe!
Sure, thank you for this articles, this should surely go down in history. Kenyan chronicles. Slay queens think its the best thing that can happen to them.
Hehe...Let's see if later on there will be testimonials as to whether this lifestyle actually works out for them!
Very well put. Life!
Ain't sponsorship just sugar-daddies with a different name? This has existed since ever, I only say while I would not choose that lifestyle one should be careful not to come out empty. I would not choose it because life has afforded me some advantages like the fact I can innovate and create ideas that allow me to be an independent woman.
Thus like @jeanwandimi I would not judge till one plays their cards wrong and the guy leaves you high and dry.