The Sugar Baby Relationship

By firstly stating the standard of definition of a sugar baby and categorizing sugar babies experience, we’ll be able to successfully define a sugar baby. So, what is a sugar baby? Jenna Homan defines the sugar baby relationship where a sugar daddy enriches a sugar baby’s life by helping to fund her goals. In turn, the sugar baby offers friendship, and in some cases sex, to the sugar daddy. In a sugaring relationship, the sugar daddy defines the relationship, but both parties have a specific expectation of the relationship. Romy defines the sugaring relationship as an older man (sugar daddy) maintaining a younger women (sugar baby) in exchange for sexual favors. However, for other sugar babies, sex isn’t a part of the sugaring relationship

Multiple resources like Sugar forums, TV shows, and books teach younger sugar babies the sugaring lifestyle. In an article from Vanity Fair, titled “Daddies, “Dates,” and the Girlfriend Experience: Welcome to the New Prostitution Economy,” by Nancy Jo Sales, examines the nuances of the sugar baby life and shows how mainstream media affects younger sugar babies and young women’s perception of sugar dating. In the article, Katie, a 23-year-old sugar baby says, “It’s super-common. It’s almost trendy to say you do it--or that you would.” Sugaring has slowly turned into a more widely known term, and the sugar baby life can be seen throughout social media and entertainment. In the book, Ho Tactics: How to Mindf**k a Man into Spending, Spoiling, and Sponsoring by G.L. Lambert, gives an in-depth guide for women to learn how to scam a man in order to get what you want. One of the stories given in the book that was very prevalent to my research paper was Maria’s story. Maria’s story shows common themes that also appear in a sugaring relationship. They, the sugar baby, want a man to financially support them, but some sugar daddies get upset or will pull away if a sugar baby is too direct. Men don’t want to talk about money because it takes away the allure of the sugaring relationship, which is that this young, attractive woman would want to spend time with you, even without the

The Girlfriend Experience is about Christine Reade, a law student and intern at one of the best firms in Chicago. But, after being introduced into the world of escorting, Reade is forced to keep both of her identities and maintain her position in both worlds. While, the Secret Diary of a Call Girl is based on Hannah Baxter, a 27-year-old college graduate, who instead of working a normal secretarial position ventures into the world of escorting, transforming into her alter ego as “Belle.” Both shows talk about the strain of living a double life and shows how sugaring has broken into mainstream culture. Sugaring has even become good picking grounds for reality television. The sugar life has was a topic on MTV and aired on episode on True Life called I’m A Sugar Baby, that follow three proclaimed teen sugar babies and the consequences of being apart of the sugar life. In 2017, a new reality show called Sponsored Divas will air sometime this year that follows 5 sugar babies and showing why they decided to become a sugar baby, giving insight to the younger generation of sugar babies, and showing their glamorous lifestyles. Moreover, the sugar life has even been exploited for movies like Sugar Babies, a movie that aired on Lifetime that shows a young, college student named