(Image: Getty)
I used to go out quite a bit in my varsity days. One night in particular, my friends and I found a dance spot near the bar that wasn’t packed to the max. Next thing I know, a man taps me on the shoulder asking if he can buy me and my friends some drinks. I politely declined, but the man continued to ask what he could get for me. Side note: I’m that person who just smiles and laughs when I can’t hear what someone has said, so this had obviously sent the wrong message. I then heard him asking for my banking details, so he could deposit money into my account (in dollars, nogal) for me to buy myself something nice and expensive and look pretty. Say what!? “No, thank you!” I shrieked, before grabbing my friends and moving to another spot in the club. After feeling utterly bewildered and thinking he was a drug lord trying to use my account as a way to launder money (hey, you always hear stories like that), my friend informed me that he was actually trying to be my sugar daddy.
While the concept was not unfamiliar to me, the introduction/experience was. In the past few years since my encounter, the concept has largely remained the same, only the terminology has changed: sugar daddies are now called blessers.
What exactly is a blesser?
A blesser is exactly that – someone (usually an older, wealthy, married male) who “blesses” a younger woman (known as the “blessee”) by spoiling her with everything from designer handbags to destination holidays and money. These financial blessings usually come at a price: sexual favours and being available 24/7.
Infamous playboy and original blesser Kenny Kunene appeared on current affairs TV show, Check Point, this past Tuesday to apologise to all the women he used to bless. “I apologise to all those girls who I directly or indirectly bought for sex. I realise that I was a pimp and I turned countless girls into prostitutes.”
The origins of the term
While previously called sugar daddies, the term blesser finds its roots in social media. On Instagram, girls post pics of themselves living a lavish lifestyle, wearing expensive watches or clothes and include the #blessed in the caption, which got people asking where the “blessing” came from.
Originally, blessees were underprivileged women but, these days, pretty much anyone can become a “blessee”. Just look at Blesserfind.com – with one simple click, girls are able to start counting their blessers.
What do you think of the blesser/blessee phenomenon? Sound off in the comments section below.