Latest news with #Soraya
ABC News
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Sugar babies give rich, older men the 'full girlfriend experience' at a price. But it can get complicated
When Soraya was 21, she met an Australian man in his mid 40s on a sugar baby dating website. It was one of her earliest introductions to the world of being a sugar baby, where young women trade their attention and sexual favours for the financial sponsorship of a rich, older man, the sugar daddy. She was staying in Ghana at the time and he was in Cape Town for business. Soraya says he fell for her straight away and flew her to South Africa to stay in his private villa. Instead of a typical relationship, they struck up an arrangement where he gave her Christian Louboutin shoes, diamond bracelets, gold rings and a weekly allowance. "He was very rich. He didn't bat an eyelash making sure that I was always comfortable in any way possible," she says. Soraya is now 26 and has been a sugar baby since she was 19. In that time she's learned a thing or two about how the game is played. She gave this man the full "girlfriend experience", but for a price. "[It's like] being with a boyfriend. From where you're going to eat tonight, to jokes and to laughing," she says. "[But] I choose when we're gonna have sex. I choose when you give me money, I choose everything." Soraya lives in South Africa, a country with one of the most unequal wealth distributions in the world, and she was raised by a single dad who told her: "It's better to be poor in a rich neighbourhood, than rich in a poor neighbourhood." Soraya learnt from a young age about the power of money and isn't shy about bringing up the subject when she first meets her "daddies". " Usually I say, 'Okay, darling, we're having such amazing time, let's talk about my favourite topic: Money'," she says. "When it comes to money, that's when you have to be serious to make sure that no words are missed. In some ways, the world of sugar dating mirrors the regular world of dating and matchmaking, with lessons in clear boundary-setting and communication. Sugar babies are also hard workers, which is part of the reason Soraya can't see herself dating any time soon. "Why do I have to put myself through normal dating with emotions that I don't even like, like putting this much energy in and needing to deal with all of these men? I think I should be compensated for it." Srushti Upadhyay is a PhD candidate at the University of Buffalo in the US who has interviewed hundreds of sugar babies in order to understand their motivations. She has found that most sugar babies do not date men in their personal lives. "If they're going to be dating men, they want to be rewarded for it because men hold a lot of power in this patriarchal society everywhere they go. And so to them … putting in this time and energy into relationships with men is something that they don't want to do for free. It's just a lot of work." Soraya says she maintains her power by stroking their ego and making them the central character. "Men also want to be loved like a fairytale," she says. "They too have not felt passion since they were a teenage boy, and they've gotten used to not feeling butterflies in their stomach when they speak to a woman. "But when they can find a woman who makes them feel like a little boy again, where they can't wait till she texts them, that is what you want. That is where the money is. "And then he doesn't know why he's starting to fall in love with me but it happens. Every time." Ms Upadhyay first became curious about sugar dating in 2016, when she was a graduate student. She has since spoken to women ranging from 18-year-olds to 60-year-olds looking to supplement their income. "A lot of them actually have full-time jobs," she says. "[Some younger sugar babies] described how their sugar daddies helped them get internships, and taught them how to invest money. "[It was] essentially like a pseudo-mentorship." Sugar babies provide emotional, sexual and physical intimacy, Ms Upadhyay says, while sugar daddies are the ones who have resources and who want companionship. There are also sugar mommies, where the gender of the arrangement is flipped, but these transactional relationships are overwhelmingly between attractive young women and rich, older men. For sugar daddies, Ms Upadhyay says a lot of them are wealthy men who want certain things they can't get from their marriages. "They want to be able to have these sexual relationships with younger women where they themselves feel young, no strings attached. "These sugar daddies are looking for somebody who just wants to listen to what they have to say. So think about it as having a therapist that you're also attracted to." There can also be a darker side to sugar dating. "[Sugar babies] talked about different degrees of 'unsafeness' that they might have felt, whether it's emotional or physical. It's always something that they are mindful of," she says. Charlotte was working full-time in admin in Melbourne when she started an arrangement with an older doctor in 2023 — her first as a sugar baby. He was in his late 50s and married with kids. At 32, she was earning enough money to get by, but not enough to live the life to which she aspired. That's when she signed up to a sugar baby site. "[I thought], how do I make extra money? I have Asian heritage and I have been fetishised my whole adult life and it's such a red flag for me," she says. "Going into this, I actually was like, 'I'm gonna take that back a little bit and use that to my advantage'." After a couple of months of seeing each other, Charlotte and her sugar daddy started talking every day. They would hang out, go on dates to expensive restaurants, and often have sex. "He wasn't physically that attractive, but he was so lovely to me and so polite," she says. "And then it all came to a head when we went overseas." Three months into their arrangement, Charlotte was onboard for what she thought was going to be a fancy Thailand vacation. Her sugar daddy paid for Charlotte's flights and accommodation, telling his wife he was on a cycling trip. Charlotte packed her bikinis but not her wallet, expecting him to pay for everything. Beaches, great food, shopping: Charlotte could see it all ahead of her. "And then I reckon I kind of got the ick a little bit when I landed and he met me at the airport. I was like, 'Oh, you look really old. You look like you could be my grandfather.'" Charlotte put these thoughts aside, and for the first couple of days in Bangkok she had a good time. But then her sugar daddy started getting too much. "He was forcing his affection onto me, and wanting to hold my hand in public all the time. And so I would either walk ahead of him quicker, or I would just cross the road. "I was starting to really feel like I was being judged because … he looks old and I look a lot younger than my actual age. "I could see the looks on everyone's faces when we went somewhere. And so it was just adding more and more to this ick that I was getting." And then there was the straw that broke the camel's back: Charlotte's sugar daddy started getting stingy, refusing to buy her things in the Bangkok markets. "Even trying to ask for a hat was so difficult. And then I just was like, I'm done. I don't want to be here anymore," she says. The next day, Charlotte came up with an excuse as to why she needed to get home, but without her bank cards she couldn't leave the country easily. "Once he realised that I'd made my mind up … he made zero attempts to try and help me get home," she says. Eventually, another sugar daddy she'd been seeing wired her the funds to get on a plane back to Australia. But even after Charlotte's hasty exit, the older doctor wasn't ready to let go. "I had like 75 unread messages over a number of weeks," she says. "There was a moment where I did feel scared because he knew so much about my life. I was looking over my shoulder constantly. "And then I remembered that he's married with kids and I have a lot of evidence and that I could blow his life up, and that it would be in his best interest to leave me alone." Soraya has been in sugar relationships for seven years now and has learnt some things along the way. "I do have one rule. That I must always be able to afford travelling back on my own, if necessary." She also never goes home with a sugar daddy on the first date, and has an upper age limit of 60. "That's too much. It's giving retirement. Retirement means too much time and I don't want to spend too much time with them." Soraya actually ended up marrying the Australian sugar daddy she met when she was 21, although it didn't last long. "[Being married] actually felt a bit like a cage," she says. Ms Upadhyay, who has interviewed hundreds of sugar babies, says it is not uncommon for sugar daddies to fall in love with their sugar babies. "Many of them shared [that] their sugar daddies became fascinated with them, or were very interested in turning a sugar relationship into a romantic relationship. And to a lot of the sugar babies, that was the first sign that they want to not pay for the arrangement." Soraya and her sugar daddy got divorced after a couple of years, but she walked away with a trust fund, which means she only has to work when she wants to. "That's where my net worth skyrocketed into the many zeros," she says. She now devotes most of her time to investing and advising fellow sugar babies on TikTok. As for Charlotte, after leaving her sugar daddy behind in Thailand, she found a new (married, with kids) daddy in an arrangement that works much better for her. "He's really lovely and is so respectful and so kind, and [it's] the experience that I wish that I'd had. I think he's in better shape than I am. [The sex is] probably better than a lot of the sex that I've had with people that are my age by choice and for free. "I get money from him. It's a set fee. And then I go off on my way and then I'm like, 'See you next time'."
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Announcing The Soraya's 2025-26 Season
Highlights of the 15th Anniversary Season:Opening Weekend - Fiddler on the Roof in YiddishWorld Premiere: Martha Graham Dance Company & Leonard BernsteinDisney and Pixar's Toy Story 30th Anniversary Live-to-Film ConcertQuincy Jones Tribute Concert; Chris Walden and Pacific Jazz OrchestraGregory Porter: Christmas WishRiccardo Muti Conducts Chicago Symphony OrchestraDuke Ellington Concert of Sacred Music: Led by Gerald Clayton For story development and interview requests: Marketing & Communications Specialist Marie Estrada ( Click HERE for full press release & press kit LOS ANGELES, May 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Executive and Artistic Director Thor Steingraber unveiled The Soraya's 15th Anniversary Season May 9 at the annual Director's Dinner. The season will include 41 performances across 32 events, and run from Sept. 13, 2025 to Apr. 25, 2026. "Each of The Soraya's performance seasons is a journey, an exploration of new or novel themes, as well as a return to timeless ideas," said Steingraber. "The Soraya's 2025–26 Season—our 15th—encompasses diverse experiences including the nightlife of Lisbon, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City; the daily life of West Africa; the spiritual realms explored by Alice Coltrane and Duke Ellington; the masterworks of Brahms and the megahits of Quincy Jones; and more." Continuing a Soraya tradition, the season features events from nearly every performing arts genre — jazz, dance, classical, Broadway, and film, along with Soraya original productions. The 2025–26 Season Includes: The Classical Music series with the Soraya debut of violinist Ray Chen (Oct. 30); the return of Joshua Bell and Academy of St Martin in the Fields (Feb. 26), and The Soraya debut of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra with Yuja Wang (Apr. 25). The Soraya's Music Knows No Borders series, which brings not only a wide spectrum of world-class international musicians to The Soraya stage, but their cultures as well. The series will begin Nov. 6 with fado singer Mariza and includes the Tigran Hamasyan Trio (Mar. 7); Quinteto Astor Piazzolla (Mar. 21); and Cirque Kalabanté's Afrique En Cirque (Mar. 22). The fifth-annual Jazz at Naz festival, held in Feb. 2026. Recently named by DownBeat magazine as one of the world's top jazz venues of 2025 and the winner of "Best Festival" in San Francisco Classical Voice's 2024 Audience Choice Awards. Members-Only Sales: May 9-July 8Public Single Ticket Onsale: July 9 Click HERE for Full Press Release & Season Calendar. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts at California State University, Northridge
The National
11-05-2025
- The National
Cycling group setting wheels in motion for women in Scotland
Women On Wheels' Tuesday begins with a morning session for beginners, where riders navigate cones and obstacles, gaining one-to-one advice on how to improve their cycling skills. In the afternoon, another session allows more confident riders to set out on a gentle ride around the surrounding area, through parks or woodland areas, with hills or more challenging terrain. The women attending these sessions are New Scots who have arrived in Scotland from countries including Iran, Nigeria, Tanzania and Ukraine. Some of the women are experiencing cycling as a new hobby, and for others, they are trying to rebuild their lives and navigate an unfamiliar city, looking for connections and routine. The purpose of the sessions is not only to improve riders' skills, but to give the women a better understanding of their local area, improving their confidence to navigate Glasgow. The sessions often cover bike rides in Queen's Park or Kelvingrove, and recently helped one woman build the confidence to cycle from Maryhill all the way to the southside. For some, cultural and religious rules have prevented women from learning to cycle in their home country. Soraya, a young woman from Tanzania, explained how she had cycled as a child before being forced to give it up due to restrictions that prevented women from cycling. She said: 'In my country, as a teenager I had to stop cycling. It is especially difficult as a Muslim and while wearing a headscarf.' Since attending the sessions in Glasgow, she has seen women of different faiths and nationalities take up the activity and says 'cycling now makes me feel free'. Eilidh has run multiple riding sessions with refugees across different charities in Glasgow for almost a decade. She has successfully brought together women from across groups such as Sunny Cycles and Bikes for Refugees, to a space where women are sure to feel welcomed and comfortable. As with many grassroots initiatives, she has hopped from project to project, supporting people until funding has run out. READ MORE: Doctor who grew up in Gaza gives 'emotional' speech at Highlands pro-Palestine march Her informal WhatsApp group chat ''Cycling Sisters' is part of the success of the sessions. This group brings together women from different charities, ensuring that women are never left behind if the funding for projects runs out. Rides and sessions are shared here, as well as photographs and funny videos. Most of the women have heard about the sessions through word of mouth. For many, it is not just a cycling group but a support network, which has allowed them to gain access to more support services in Scotland or even to hear about volunteering and work opportunities. As asylum seekers are not allowed to work, many women are keen to find volunteering jobs that fit around their ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) courses, a college programme that helps refugees to learn English. Women On Wheels helps to put women in contact with other groups and on the most recent Tuesday ride, the session stopped at Urban Roots, a community-led gardening project, where one woman was introduced to volunteering opportunities. The women feel that cycling is not only beneficial for their physical health, but for their mental health and sense of belonging. Edith, from Nigeria, is one of dozens of women who has taken part in the cycling sessions and feels an increased sense of community and friendship since joining. Edith was introduced to Eilidh when she was still living in hotel accommodation in Glasgow and describes the sessions as giving her confidence and happiness in an extremely challenging time. Women On Wheels works closely with the Scottish Refugee Council and will be hosting an event for Refugee Festival Scotland, taking place from June 13-22. Women from across different refugee sessions will be invited to a dinner at the Milk Cafe where they can share delicious food, in keeping with their cultures. For many, hotel food has been unfamiliar and poor, with little opportunity to cook and eat their preferred dishes. In a time of polarised political discourse surrounding refugees and displaced people, Women On Wheels and its refugee sessions are a quiet and powerful network, whose amazing work has mostly gone unnoticed. For the women who take part, these sessions are more than a bike ride. They are a space to grow in confidence, build community and friends and gain a sense of freedom and knowledge about the local area.
Time Out Abu Dhabi
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out Abu Dhabi
Soraya in Abu Dhabi
Given its proximity to a mall food court, you'd be forgiven for thinking Soraya was a casual mall restaurant. Located at the main entrance, with its own valet service (NBD), this is a super stylish Persian restaurant that is undeniably swish. Created by the team behind Pachamama in London, it's a style and substance kind of place that impresses no matter the time you stop in. During the day, enjoy a sun-drenched dining room that looks like the home and a very eccentric Persian artist. With burnt-orange booths, candelabras with melted wax candles on every table and a stunning open kitchen with plenty of action to see, the interiors are elegant yet cosy. With powdery beige walls collaged with bright, framed artworks, tastefully wooden panels and decorative frilly lampshades, it's the perfect example of knick-knacks done right. (Credit: Soraya) But, again, this isn't just style over substance, because Soraya serves up some of the best high-end Persian cuisine in Abu Dhabi. Start with the sabzi khordan, which is a simple yet essential part of any Persian meal. You'll get a vibrant platter of fresh herbs and veggies, served family style and meant to be eaten alongside pretty much everything, especially when paired with grilled meats. If you're after an iconic main, then the ever-juicy kubideh kabab – a superstar of Persian grills – is the kind of dish that's simple in concept, but when made right, it hits on every level. Expect its juicy, tender meat, smoky flavour and aromatic herbs to live in your head rent-free for a while. Soraya's rendition was deeply satisfying. (Credit: Soraya) Finish with the restaurant's Insta-famous caramel burnt cheese cake, where waiters dramatically pour a brown butter & hazelnut kunafa sauce on top. Creamy and ends the entire experience on a high. While Soraya is wonderfully modern, it's not straying too far from tradition, though, either. You're getting iconic recipes presented in a contemporary way in a stunning space, all priced very reasonably for what you're getting. What's not to love? Spend enough time at Soraya and you won't just forget you're next to a mall – you'll feel like you've been whisked into the eclectic home of a Persian creative who just happens to serve some of the best kababs in the city. Casual mall dining? Not even close.
What's On
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- What's On
Review: Avlu at Yas Mall Abu Dhabi
Can you really recreate Aegean charm inside a mall? Yas Mall has quietly transformed into one of Abu Dhabi's top dining destinations. Beyond shopping, it boasts an impressive lineup of restaurants that go far beyond the standard mall food court. With standout spots like Soraya, L'eto, Mezzaluna, and now AVLU, it has firmly established itself as a go-to for culinary enthusiasts. Conveniently located for both Abu Dhabi residents and visitors from Dubai, the mall takes full advantage of its prime Yas Island setting. AVLU Greek & Turkish Cuisine aims to bring the flavours of Turkey and Greece straight to the UAE capital. Like many of Abu Dhabi's top eateries, AVLU prioritises fresh, high-quality ingredients. Their breakfast spread is a shining example, featuring Turkish sesame simit, Canakkale Ezine cheese, seasonal fruits, and steaming cups of Turkish mountain tea. Look and Feel Drawing inspiration from the Aegean region, AVLU's design masterfully balances rustic charm with modern elegance. Soft whites, earthy pastels, and warm peachy tones create an inviting atmosphere that feels like a Mediterranean escape. The hand-painted murals – intricate artworks that took over a month to complete – tell rich stories of Aegean life. True to its name (which translates to 'courtyard' in Turkish), AVLU's standout feature is its courtyard-inspired dining space. Bathed in natural light, it offers an indoor, temperature-controlled sanctuary with a centrepiece lemon tree adding to the Mediterranean aesthetic. Images: supplied The Menu For lunch, we put ourselves in the capable hands of executive chef Olcay Hanci, and the menu does not disappoint. We start with grilled Greek octopus and baked manti (Dhs48), followed by a standout favourite – the aubergine millefeuille (Dhs48) layered with green Manouri cheese and Turkish labneh. The slow-cooked beef cheeks (Dhs128) are melt-in-the-mouth, while the Dolmadakia (Dhs34), made with Tokat vine leaves, dolma rice, and smoked yogurt, offers a fresh twist on a classic. For meat lovers, the Hunter's Board (Dhs695) is a feast designed for four, packed with chicken, keftedakia, and lamb souvlaki – a protein-packed spectacle that's perfect for sharing. Verdict: Beautifully designed with a menu that delivers on flavor, AVLU is a worthy pit stop for anyone visiting Yas Mall. AVLU, Yas Mall, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, Mon to Thur 9am to 10.30pm, Fri to Sun 9am to 11.30pm. @ > Sign up for FREE to get exclusive updates that you are interested in
