Sex Tourism in Kenya
Wealthy Older Women Look for Love on the Shores of Africa
Sexual tourism has long been a driving force behind places like Amsterdam, Bangkok, and Manila. Now it is coming to Kenya - with a twist.
The Infamous Sex Industry
The places that men go for sexual vacations are famous - or infamous, perhaps. Amsterdam and Copenhagen, Las Vegas, Phuket in Thailand, or Olongapo in the Philippines. There are other locations. But the spots that women frequent are less notorious. Finding a male companion in Jamaica is not supposed to be difficult for a woman. The Kuta district of Bali is perhaps the best know spot. And now a new playground for older women seeking love is emerging: Kenya.
Catering to WOWs
The Reuters news service recently ran a story on the issue. Wealthy older women (WOWs) have begun traveling to the seaside resorts on Kenya's Indian Ocean beaches in search of attention. The WOWs partner up with a young Kenyan man, pay for his food and entertainment in much the same way that any older man might do for a young woman in his company, buy him a few gifts along the way, and have a very enjoyable stay in Kenya.
Wealth is a relative concept. While the women may be wealthy by Kenyan standards, at home in Perth, Liverpool, or Los Angeles they are little more than average women - nurses, real estate agents, or perhaps lawyers who have saved up for a vacation. And "older" can mean anything from 38 to 73 or so.
Officially, the Kenyan government "frowns" upon the new trend. It has all the same moral quandaries and health concerns attached to it that the long established male-oriented sex industry in Kenya has. Almost seven percent of Kenya's population is HIV-positive; sexual tourism simply accelerates the spread of the disease. And many see sexual tourism, regardless of the genders and ages involved, as a case of wealthy Westerners taking advantage of the poverty of a developing nation.
One of the reasons for the new trend is that Kenya has less of an aversion to the "young man - older woman" type of relationships than in many other places in the world. Call it a cultural manifestation of the Oedipus Complex. A nationally known political leader in Kenya, Wambui Otieno, made headlines not long ago when she disinherited her adult children and married a 25 year old man; Otieno was 67. Her first husband had been dead for 20 years...
The Double Standard
Kenya's newly found attraction for female tourists highlights the double standard that exists in most of the world regarding sexual tourism. UNICEF reports that around 15,000 underage girls (12 to 18 years old) in Kenya's coastal provinces trade casual sex for tourist cash with some regularity. Another three thousand or so girls and boys work full time in the sex trade. in light of that, the words of one hotel manager in Kenya regarding the new trend in women's sexual tourism is insightful. He said that his hotel company was against illegal activity like prostitution, but this was different: "It's just unwholesome."
It's a man's world, even in Kenya...
