Before you read this, I want you to be assured that I will offend you. Male or female, there will be certain parts of this subject that will not sit well with you, and that is perfectly okay. It’s a controversial topic, after all. The topic of Corporate ‘Ashawos.’
While it may ruffle feathers, the truth is this: there has never been a better time to be a woman, at least when it comes to turning femininity itself into currency.
It’s not just about sex; it’s about how allure, charm, and calculated branding can open doors that hard work alone sometimes can’t. And that uncomfortable reality was thrown back into the spotlight this week when Twitter caught fire over the conversation around ‘The Ashawofication of Labour’.
It all erupted from an interview with a self-styled chef who openly described how she combines private cooking gigs with massages, stripteases, and the occasional overnight service.
Her words were raw, unfiltered, and dripping with a brash honesty that both scandalised and fascinated the public: she cooks, she smokes, she dances for her clients, and if the price is right, sometimes in the millions, she spends the night.
When asked why, she shrugged it off: staying with one man is boring, and after a childhood of being sheltered, she wanted to taste everything Lagos had to offer.
As shocking as her confessions were, they tapped into something many Nigerians already whisper about. A Twitter user, @PenTitan, summarised it: you buy perfume from a vendor who also hints at “extra services,” you decline. Later, you ask another vendor for those same services and get insulted; suddenly, you’re the predator, and women must defend themselves.
His point wasn’t to excuse men, but to say that when some women consciously sexualise their brands, it muddles the waters for those who don’t.
This is the ugly reality: today, more than a few women are “business owners” online but “butterfly girls” offline. Some have no shop, no warehouse, no tangible stock, but somehow they’re sporting iPhones, designer handbags, and wigs worth a working man’s salary. The math rarely adds up.
On the wild streets of the internet, you’ll stumble on ‘entrepreneurs’ twerking to market everything from food to real estate to wigs, leaving you to wonder, what exactly is for sale here?
And then there are the not-so-secret whispers of vendors who promise “home delivery,” sometimes of the goods, sometimes of themselves.
Even the entertainment industry is not exempt; we see new actresses appear in barely-watched movies, yet pull up to award shows in luxury cars. In universities, the “aristo” culture, wealthy men sponsoring younger women, is practically institutional.
It isn’t always direct prostitution. More often, it’s suggestive marketing, carefully curated online personas, strategic flirtations, and a private list of “friends in high places.” The payoff? Cash gifts, lucrative contracts, or a VIP table at events that matter. And let’s not kid ourselves, this game works. If it didn’t, it would have died a long time ago.
But then comes the fallout: when every woman’s hustle is seen through the same dirty lens. And this suspicion isn’t just gossip; it’s backed by data.
A 2020 survey by African Women in Business found that 41 per cent of women in banking, consulting, and oil and gas said their promotions were widely believed to be thanks to sexual favours, while male colleagues rose without such scrutiny.
The tragedy is that whether or not the rumour is true, it sticks. A woman starts a logistics company: “She must be sleeping with politicians.” She becomes a CEO and buys property, “She must have serviced someone.”
Even when these women put in twice the work, invest personal savings, and risk everything, the default explanation remains: she opened her legs.
The hidden cost is that many capable women avoid industries like entertainment, politics, or hospitality because they fear being branded “corporate ashawo.”
Others drive modest cars and live quietly offline to keep the wolves at bay. There are still people who can’t fathom that a woman can build a house, buy a car, or scale a business without sleeping her way to success.
To deny that some women consciously blend sex and business sanitises an ugly truth.
But one thing we sometimes fail to see is that there is no supply without demand. Sex sells because there is a market for it.
And that market isn’t powered by women alone; it thrives on the wallets, lust, and double standards of men who swear they’d never marry “such a woman” but will quietly keep her on speed dial.
While women do trade sex for profit, what’s even truer, and more scandalous, is how quickly society assumes every successful woman must be doing the same.
And really, this whole gist boils down to one question: what’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you see a young woman cruising in a flashy car?
Maybe that’s where the conversation should start, because sometimes, the real scandal isn’t what she did to get there, but what we’re so quick to think she must have done. And until that reflex changes, the rumour will always travel faster than the truth.
