EDMONTON -- Rising tuition costs and living expenses are driving the city's post-secondary students to seek out older, richer dates.
Dating website SeekingArrangement.com is helping poor students hook up with "sugar daddies" and "sugar mommas," and MacEwan University boasts the fifth fastest-growing user base among post-secondary institutions in Canada.
The university has 174 members, including 140 who joined in 2014.
"This is a trend. It's growing," said SeekingArrangement spokesman Brook Urick, citing a 42% overall increase in student signups.
So-called "sugar babies," who are typically young women in their mid-20s, receive an average monthly allowance of $3,000 a month from the financially well-endowed dates they meet through the site.
Urick said MacEwan's numbers have likely spiked due to word of mouth.
In light of recent events, we thought it might be time for a refresher course in the definitions of Sugar. Many are quick to label the Sugar lifestyle choice as prostitution, but there are many differences between this lifestyle and the oldest profession. High-end or not, a call girl is not an interchangeable word for a Sugar Baby. Here are four reasons why.
1. A Relationship vs A Transaction
A prostitute and a client have a transactional relationship. They meet, exchange funds, and participate in some sort of physical act and part ways. Typically, this is a one time occurrence. A job. There is no relationship, and no possibility for a relationship. And that is the key difference really: Relationship.
Sugar Babies and Sugar Daddies have on-going relationships, not transactions. More often than not, a Sugar relationship will resemble that of a girlfriend-boyfriend relationship. There are real connections and real possibilities at romance, something that is not in the realm of possibility with an escort or prostitute. Just because a relationship doesn’t follow the traditional rules of courtship, doesn’t mean it isn’t valid. It also doesn’t mean it’s illegal.
2. Being a Sugar Baby vs Being a Prostitute
Sugar is a lifestyle choice, not a profession. A sugar baby is a woman who wants to date financially secure men who can provide her with the lifestyle she desires. She’s selective about who she dates; a prostitute isn’t picky about who she takes on as a client. The risks involved with prostitution are countless, and include exposure to crime, abuse, sexually transmitted diseases and theft of service. Many prostitutes are also subject to physical and emotional abuse, especially when involved with a pimp. And in Sugar, sex is never a requirement, only an aspiration.
3. Dating a Sugar Baby vs Ordering a Prostitute
A Sugar Daddy is generous, and wants to see their partner succeed. When two people are involved in a mutually beneficial relationship, they respect and value one another’s time. Sugar relationships can turn into long term serious relationships.
Prostitutes are paid to perform a service, while Sugar Babies sometimes receive funds as an added benefit of dating a generous man. A john doesn’t want a hooker to stick around, and a Sugar Daddy doesn’t want his Sugar Baby to leave. While an escort might have a sordid sexual history, a Sugar relationship is often monogamous.
4. Quality vs Quantity
Most Sugar Babies aren’t solely involved in the sugar world. Sugar Babies are also teachers, college students, actresses, and business professionals. They seek successful mentors that can advance their career, not a temporary fix. Sugar Babies can be present in the lives of Sugar Daddies because they have long-term professional goals, and interesting personalities to keep everyone intrigued.
Prostitutes on the other hand, use their trade as a source of income — it’s a last resort for many women who are pressed for money. They aren’t looking for mentors or anyone with a specific level of expertise.
You may meet hundreds of prostitutes before finding anyone to fulfill your emotional needs. Prostitutes are hired to role play for the evening — they’ll be whomever you want them to be, but they won’t necessarily be themselves. She treats you like a job, not like a man.
I'm not a fan of the arrangements myself but I'm troubled by the judgemental posts directed at the 'sugar babies' (focusing only on one gender even though some young men receive the same benefit) but no criticism of the sugar daddies, a group that likely includes married men.
That's quite the double standard.
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So it's a lease as opposed to a rental. Regardless of what you call it, it starts out with the thinking that "I am going to date/sleep with this man/woman for $x per month in consideration".
I don't care what you do, but don't try to pass it off as starting a relationship with someone who just happens to be generous. The express purpose was to provide someone with emotional/sexual gratification for a fee.
seekingarrangement isn't anything new and has been popular in the states for years. Have a couple buddys that use the service, all parties involved live happy lives.
IMO, prostitution in only wrong because of the associated horsecrap (human trafficking, pimp violence, exploitation, association with crime groups, addiction issues, and the list goes on). Daddy-baby arrangements eliminate the negative aspect. People are much more careful about who they enter an arrangement with. Mutual happiness is a strong consideration. Both sides benefit.
When I look around my circle of friends who are married, I think I can make a strong argument that many baby-daddy arrangements are more wholesome (in a socially conservative sense) than a ton of marriages out there.
I dont see how this is appreciably different from prostitution for either men or women. An agreed upon monthly stipend for a 'relationship.' The only difference really is that the services rendered via the relationship are implied instead of explicit, which isnt all that different from prostitution.
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Interesting, what would people call it if one of the parties wasn't in school? 'I'm going to pay this person to have sex with me' is basically what this is. Call it what it is, don't hide behind semantics.
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And if I had a nickel for every limpdick halfwit $hitbag wimp that is so hopeless that he can't find someone to like him because he doesn't have a personality that even his mother would like, hopefully I wouldn't have a lot money, but I'd probably have more than I want, under the circumstances.
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Last edited by RougeUnderoos; 02-01-2015 at 02:07 AM.
As education costs rise, so do number of 'sugar babies' on Canadian campuses
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