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I am talking about a particular vulnerable group of women in their early to mid 20s who not only use Instagram to attract their male sponsors, but curate a lifestyle brand over it to legitimize themselves and potentially earn money through corporate brands. The sponsors can range from local young wealthier men, older married men, to diaspora men who sponsor their online lifestyle a normal 20 year old from a low-income family with a minimum wage job, small earning business, or no job, in Mombasa could never afford in exchange for dates, or more. However, their following is not only their sponsors, but young girls who admire them and potentially businesses who believe they built their brand from scratch. What is troubling is that it creates a false reality for young girls, as if they do not necessarily need education to make it, and that it is easy to be an influencer and make money when it is not, it is a full time job. It potentially glamorizes and normalizes sugaring as something safe, admirable, easy, and doable when it is not. It continues the unequal power men have in this society over women and continues the vicious cycle of generational trauma.
https://sumaiyatufailwrites.wordpress.com/2022/12/29/the-sex-workers-of-makadara-vs-the-digital-age
Wants 