An ethical assessment of the structural agency of the blessee in the ‘Blesser-Blessee’ phenomenon.
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Date
2020
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Abstract
This study concerned the ‘Blesser-Blessee’ Phenomenon (BBP) in South Africa. The BBP is a
social construct based on a transactional relationship. A social construct is based on what society
sees and experiences around it (Gablin, 2014). Thus, multiple people have to experience the
phenomenon for it to develop into a social construct (Boghossian, 2001). A transactional
relationship is best known in terms of a monetary exchange for sexual benefits. The relationship
usually occurs between a young adult (blessee) and an older man (blesser). In some cases, a blesser
can also be female. A blesser is a modern-day ‘sugar daddy’ who is known for giving extravagant
gifts to the blessee, and the blessee is usually a young woman with material needs or wants
(Thobejane et al., 2017). The blessee dates a blesser to fulfil her different needs or wants and to
meet specific goals (Garsd and Crossan, 2017). In most cases, this relationship is pursued in order
to provide her with a livelihood. The structures of the blessee provide the reasons why they pursue
this type of transactional relationship. The structures are highlighted as peer pressure,
unemployment, gender inequality and poverty. The structures help us understand the agency of the
blessee and how it, the agency, is underpinned by them, hence the theory of ‘Structure and Agency’. The Structure and Agency theory advocates the idea that to understand an agent, one
must know the structures or systems that surround the individual and how they affect the decisions
they make. The reasons yield multiple outcomes that could be positive and/or negative. These
reasons are considered as the structures within the Structure and Agency theory, and which indicate
whether the agency is limited or unlimited. The decision to consider both the structures and the
agency of an individual yield the structural agency.
This research focused on female blessees and highlighted the idea of women and agency. Thus,
the ethical implications of individual agency of the blessee are premised on her freedom and
rationality. In order to obtain information for this research, a desktop study was conducted. It
entailed the use of secondary resources using an exploratory approach. This was done through
assessing the blessee in the BBP using the Structure and Agency theory to understand whether she has agency that is not limited.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.