The siren: Tale of cunning Ben10s, blackmail and Covid-19

This Covid containment season is proving to be a time of great learning. Following my educational session into the world of slay queens courtesy of Monixx, I now know a lot more about the world of Ben10s, thanks to two young men who reached out to me - Timo and Wayne.

We even set up a Zoom call so that I could understand their world and the hardships they are going through. For those who might not know who Ben10s are, here is a simple definition: young men between the ages of 20 and 30 who provide sexual pleasure for older women. Simply put, they are paid or kept toyboys. 

Wayne and Timo told me that there exists a huge boychild population of Ben10s who are suffering just as much, if not more than, slay queens. Most Ben10s are usually college students who have identified a niche in the market.

They have recognised that there are many women (both single and married) in the 40 to 60 age bracket who are looking for able-bodied men to meet certain sexual and emotional needs. According to Wayne and Timo, these women are desperate for serious bednastics, which their hubbies are incapable of providing, mainly because their bellies get in the way or because they have outsourced their needs to their slay queens.

Containment and curfew

This containment and curfew manenos mean that the women (commonly referred to as cougars) are not coming out to play and the Ben10s are suffering. Wayne and Timo told me that cougars, unlike male sponsors, offer them better deals because they like to maintain high standards. They do not like to just hang out anywhere, they do not like those smoky, dingy meat-eating joints that male sponsors like to frequent. So they usually take their Ben10s to better joints - usually lounges, which had become the norm pre-Covid-19.  

They also do not like to be seen with men who look young and broke, so they use their credit cards and trips abroad to shop and upgrade their Ben10s. I was told that one only needs two weeks of delivering good service to get the ‘new look’ – which is usually designer wear (though some are knock-offs from China), new colognes and of course a new smartphone. The married cougars are usually terrified of being caught and ruining their precious reputation (I was told some of them even serve in the Mothers' Guild and in Parent Teacher Associations). They are also very fussy about matters health and hygiene so they do not like visiting dodgy lodgings and hotels. For this reason, they set up their Ben10s in rather decent abodes, far removed from college hostels.

These residences have everything a young man in his 20s needs - free wi-fi, a decent bed, cash allowances, drinks, a massive TV. When Ben10s deliver outstanding service over months, they get to travel abroad and sometimes even get a car. 

Now all these hopes of future riches are in tatters because the cougars have lost interest and opportunity. Those cougars who have made their money off trading in goods from China, or from milking government allowances and tenders, are not in a position to fund anyone at the moment.

They are more worried about their livelihoods than their libidos, so that means that the future looks bleak for Ben10s. Wayne and Timo told me that come May 1, they will be kicked out of their flats since the cougars will no longer pay - plus they now no longer answer their calls since they are surrounded by family 24/7. The Ben10s are feeling used and discarded, broke and fearful of the future.

They told me that if things continue this way, they might have to resort to desperate measures - namely blackmail. You see, Ben10s have mastered the art of hedging their bets to cover all their bases.

They have also been filling the needs of many married men, especially in this city, who like to push certain sexual boundaries. Some of them like to dabble in the world of homosexuality from time to time, never mind being married and publicly declaring how all gay men should be burnt at the stake. Others like to venture into the world of sexual voyeurism, like being whipped or being made to bark like dogs.

Wayne and Timo told me that these men make for good clients for not only do they pay for the services; they also pay extra for silence. Ben10s who play in this field like to keep secret ammunition, which they use to make demands for extra cash from time to time. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so now they have a plan.

They will intensify their threats and demand a hefty sum of money, failure to which they will leak the pictures and videos on social media or to some popular blogger. Nothing makes a man pay up faster than the thought of certain images being posted online.

They told me that they have images of some top office and government officials all nude and chained like dogs and others wearing nurses' uniforms. Wayne and Timo are sure that these men will pay up for they all know that Kenyans are looking for anything other than corona to keep them entertained. So their plan is simple - get the massive blackmail payout from the men and use it to buy time in their flats where they can continue to order food online and watch Netflix.

When this is all over, revert to usual settings of the cougars where they can still continue enjoying being spruced up and set up. At the end of the Zoom call, I was not sure whether to applaud the Ben10s or fear them. All I can say is this containment better end soon before the blackmail begins.

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