Socialites gyrate their way to fame

Vera Sidika is used to grabbing and keeping attention. With over 26,000 twitter followers, around 76,000 likes on her Facebook fan page and an 8,500 strong following on Instagram, she is Kenya’s favourite socialite.

But Sidika’s fame and popularity does not end on social media. She is used to making headlines in the mainstream media as well. Just last week, she was in the headlines for being the most Googled person in Kenya this year.

In response, she took to her Instagram profile and said: “…Google only recognize relevance & I believe people hate just so they can ride on your fame n popularity to stay relevant…” (sic)

Sidika has been the subject of commentary in Business Daily, and even international media such as BBC have sat up and taken notice of this voluptuous self-proclaimed beauty icon.

Vera Sidika rose to fame and gained the title of video vixen when she starred in P-Unit’s You Guy video.

Although the song was an instant hit, her sizeable backside must have helped contribute to the song’s more than 240,000 views on YouTube. She went on to star in rapper Prezzo’s video for the song, My Gal, which has garnered almost 300,000 views on YouTube.

In matters business, she owns a fashion cloth line called Vee S Collections and recently opened a high-end hair salon in Nairobi called Vera Sidika Hair Lounge.

She has utilised the power of social media to advertise her products and share her adventures, travels and events she hosts. She said she intends to get into the music industry stating that she was “recording”.

She has gone the way of international socialites like world famous Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian who have monetised their socialite status, and are now no longer just socialites, but business moguls. They run clothing lines, perfumes, reality shows and occasionally endorse weight loss products.

The reality is that Sidika has made waves of fame that she continues to ride unabashedly, despite the fact that her fame is pegged on her generous derriere. She has used it to tap into a well of public interest that has culminated in the creation of a successful business that she runs.

Although she is the most recognizable, Sidika is not alone. Others in this league are Huddah Monroe, Risper Faith, Corazon Kwamboka, Vanessa Chettle and Pendo.

INTERNATIONAL

The socialite business is not local, it is international. Kim Kardashian, the American woman famous for being famous, is the mother of them all. In East Africa, Tanzania’s Agnes Masogange easily leads not just in curves, but also in notoriety and controversy.

But as the allure of socialites grows especially among the youth, social scientists and the clergy are getting uneasy.

They are alarmed that the flashy life portrayed by Sidika and her ilk; the fast cars, expensive night outs, over-sexualisation of the body and doubtful moral conduct will present an attraction that young people may not be able to resist.

“Young people are very impressionable. They are easy to influence and the church has a responsibility to remain the greatest influencers in the youth’s lives,” says Reverend Canon Peter Karanja, Secretary General of the National Council of Churches of Kenya.

He is aware of the kind of influence that someone like Vera Sidika could have on his young congregation and he says that the only way to mitigate this is to make church a meaningful experience for young people.

The Rev Karanja adds that the church as a global entity cannot hope to make the kind of impression that will have young Christians remain true to their godly upbringing. It is important to have local churches put the gospel in context in such a way that it appeals to the youth in that church.

“Broad sweeping policy statements made from a perch in the upper echelons of the church will not cut it with today’s youth. A targeted youth ministry must boil down to the grassroots church context. This means that individual churches need to strategise to meet the needs of the young,” explains the reverend.

However, when Mavuno Church tried to do this earlier this year, they faced an avalanche of criticism from Christians who felt that they had gone too far in their campaign to reach out to the youth.

The church, whose congregation mainly comprises of young professionals, portrays itself as “hip” and “with it”.

In February this year, it posted a poster on social media inviting teenagers to a seminar. The poster featured a leggy girl reclining sensually against a young man.

The message in the poster relied also heavily on pop culture to catch the attention of the youth, including lyrics of popular secular songs.

Most people thought that the poster was too sexualised and had no place in the church.

CANON KARANJA

Canon Karanja does not agree.

“Mavuno should actually be congratulated, not harshly criticised,” he says. “That church was only trying to do what more churches should do today; get creative so as to attract the youth. Remember, you cannot preach to them unless they are in church.”

He added that the old way of thinking and doing things will not hold sway with today’s young person. If church bores them, they will ultimately end up experimenting with what the likes of Ms Sidika are doing.

But even as the church struggles to keep a hold of its rebelling teenage congregation, the socialites remain oblivious to what all the hullaballoo is about.

When contacted for comment for this article, their phones were switched off and posts on social media were not replied by the time of going to press. 

Huddah Monroe in a previous TV interview was asked why she posts half naked pictures of herself instead of following in the footsteps of Lupita Nyongo.

She said: “…I didn’t pose to get attention or fame, I was modelling. Lupita is doing her own thing and everybody’s different. I can’t be Lupita and she can’t be me. Everybody chooses to do what they want; I didn’t do it for fame, as long as it puts food on the table.”

When asked what would happen if her children saw her pictures, she jokingly added: “By that time I’d have a lot of money, I’ll pay Google to erase everything, and my kids won’t have a problem. That’s why I really don’t care because money is everything; as long as you have money you can talk to people and tell them, look, I’m now a minister’s wife...”

But in a previous television interview on NTV’s popular lifestyle show The Trend, Ms Sidika: “Looking good is my business. My body is my business, nobody else’s but mine. It is my money-maker. Twenty years from now, I will still look the same.”

Asked whether she would consider herself as a role model for young girls, to be emulated, she said: “Please don’t do it because I did it. I found an option that is working for me. But please, don’t do it.”

She added: “My parents know me and understand the industry. I am an adult. Do whatever makes you happy.”

Counselling psychologist Stephen Wahome gives an interesting perspective on Ms Sidika’s rise to fame based on the size of her buttocks.
“I think Sidika’s is a classic case of reaction formation. This is where something negative is used in such a way that it is perceived as a positive,” says Dr Wahome.

SHOW IT OFF

He means that while Ms Sidika’s massive derriere might have been an impediment in other aspects of her life, her choosing to show it off in a music video made it the must-have accessory for all aspiring video vixens.

“It happens all the time, like when a big person becomes a bouncer even though we do not necessarily think that they have a healthy body size. People like Sidika take advantage of negative attributes, glorify them, manipulate them and before long, they become the ideal that everyone aspires to,” he explains.

He said that people’s fascination with Sidika’s headline grabbing asset is anchored in their fascination with sexuality.

“Buttocks have evolved into a sexual organ and anything sexual attracts attention. That is just how we are wired,” he says.

He is hesitant to point out Sidika’s popularity as a sign of society’s moral degradation, saying that it just points to where society’s interest lies at the moment.

“What I am totally against is young people who want to copy Sidika. Do not go copying her, you do not know what lies behind the pretty face and the flashy lifestyle,” he warned.

Reporting by Jacqueline Kubania, Juliet Mutegi, Eunice Kilonzo and Josephine Mosongo