Sugar dating, also known as sugaring, is a relationship between an older rich person
(also known as a “sugar daddy” or “sugar mama”) and a younger person who seeks
financial support. The young person may receive money, gifts or other material
benefits in exchange for companionship and a romantic relationship or sexual
encounters sugardaddy singapore. The relationship is often referred to as an arrangement because the
wealthy person and young person agree on the terms of their relationship. This
relationship type is generally considered legal in most countries, but it has raised
concerns about the safety of young people who are entering these relationships.
While media coverage of sugar dating often portrays it as a glamorous alternative to
low-paying jobs and student loans sugar daddy website, the reality is often more complicated. For
example, many of the students interviewed for Epigram’s recent report on sugaring
cited the potential financial benefit as their main motivation. They told us that they
could save much more than they would be able to from a regular job and they loved
the idea of being able to spend time with confident, successful men.
However, the reality is that sugaring often involves coerced requests for sex,
harassment and tilted power dynamics. Many of the students who Epigram spoke to
feared physical harm and found that being in a sugar relationship was difficult on
their mental health, particularly because they were frequently asked for sex or
intimate acts in exchange for money.
This is because the grey area between a relationship and sex work makes it easy for
high-net-worth individuals to recruit cash-strapped young people. Several websites
aimed at connecting rich people with young, attractive people offer their members a
platform for making these arrangements. They usually say that they don’t offer
prostitution or escorting services but the way they connect rich and poor people can
blur the lines between these activities.
As a result, the relationship between a “sugar baby” and a “sugar daddy” can
quickly turn into an unequal sexual relationship with coercive demands for sex and
other exploitation. This is particularly dangerous for people who are financially
vulnerable, which is why most of the sugar babies we spoke to were from university
campuses.
Rocio Palomeque Recio is a doctoral researcher at Nottingham Trent University in
the UK. Her research focuses on the neoliberalisation of higher education and
sugaring as a new form of commercialised adult work. Her latest report is entitled
“Sugaring, the hidden side of online marketplaces”.
This article was originally published on Epigram and can be viewed here. It has been
edited for length and clarity. This story is part of a series on sugar dating, sponsored
by the Guardian’s new reporting initiative.
For more information on the project and how to get involved, click here.
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